Call Center Agent's Reality Check

The call center industry is well regarded now as one that can provide employment to the increasing population of jobless Filipinos. Not only that the industry can promise employment but a competitive compensation, tempting fresh graduates to take the seat as a call center agent. But despite of the clear future that the call center career could offer, there is always a consequence upon looking on the other side. Check this article from Alexia Rodriguez of Contact News Magazine, the leading magazine of the outsourcing industry.

Call centers' health hazards

Work's stringent demands exact health toll on call center employees

Long hours of work, permanent night shifts, incredibly high work targets and loss of identity are the dark clouds that threaten to mar the 'sunshine' call center industry in the Philippines.

Results of a survey conducted by the Department of Health among 50 people working in call center firms showed that call center work ranked high for attrition due to health reasons, sleeping disorders, voice loss, ear problems, digestive disorders and eyesight problems.

The survey was undertaken to identify the health problems of call center employees at an early stage, to identify the needs of women, mothers and young workers, to assess the risks perceived, to suggest risk reduction measures, and to review the health status of employees.

Call center agents Health problems

About 30 to 40 percent of the employees working in call centers had complained of eye problems due to poor lighting conditions and intensive computer use. Soreness, dryness, blurred vision, light sensitivity, headache -- all these put together is labeled as computer vision syndrome. This problem is more acute with the team leaders who need to come in early and go home late.

Digestive disorders are also common among employees call centers, according to the DOH survey. Thirty-four percent of employees had complaints of this type, as revealed by the Human Resources managers.

It was also pointed out that employees are facing the possibility of losing their voice. In its chronic form, it is characterized by inability to speak, pain, croakiness of voice, irritating cough, poor vocal power, inability to modulate and breathing difficulties -- all due to intensive verbal interaction with clients, given the odd timing and nature of work that roots people to a chair nine hours a day, reading pre-scripted conversations on the phone endlessly.

Employees have also been complaining of hearing problems due to exposure to high intensity sound from headsets and high sound levels from regular work.

Other issues were related to loss of identity, isolation, drug abuse, work pressure due to long hours of work, permanent night shift, and high work targets.

Negative work attitude

The increased reporting of health disorders results in boredom, job dissatisfaction, anger, etc.

Symptoms of the burnout syndrome, which include chronic fatigue, insomnia and complete alteration of the 24-hour biological rhythm of the body, are routine cause for sickness absenteeism, the DOH survey said.

Chronic levels of stress affect the heart, endocrine system and also lead to sleep disorders.

Although most such cases do not require treatment or medication, they need guidance on physical and mental coordination to cope with a job that requires hyper-alert efficiency.

The DOH underscored the need to implement policies concerning work shifts, especially prolonged night work, and the importance of pre-employment and periodic medical examinations. It also cited the need for counseling sessions to tackle the stress on the job.

In a paper entitled "A Philippine Case Study - Examining Health and Safety in Contact Centers," Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) Executive Director Dulce Estrella-Gust said the two popular health hazards of working nightshifts is still obesity and nicotine dependency.

OSHC, a unit of the Department of Labor and Employment conducted its own survey of a number of call center companies recently and they validated what the industry has been suspecting for years, that call center agents are prone to smoking and over-eating.

"Call center agents are exposed to a lot of stress so they turn to smoking or they eat," says Dr. Estrella-Gust.

The OSHC issues policies to reduce work-related injuries, illnesses and even deaths. As part of its current program, Dr. Estrella-Gust and her people conduct trainings to all call center human resource managers on reducing occupational risk in the business process outsourcing field.

Call Center Agent Stress management

Since majority of the call center employees are fresh out of college, few tend to behave unprofessionally and indifferently. They do not take their job seriously, indulge in teasing, joking, and talking over mobile phones, and have disagreements with co-workers.

The call center executives, on the other hand, have more responsibility and accountability. They need to be disciplined to do well in the job. The supervisors always concentrate on performance and achieving targets. They do not have the time or the interest to go deep into these matters to find out the reasons for some of their employees' behaviors.

Unacceptable behaviors will cause disturbance to others and, overall, will affect productivity. Sleeping while on duty, reading novels and playing games on the computer during working hours brings down productivity: quality suffers.

According to DOLE-OSHC, the HR representatives and professional counselors jointly have a role to bring behavioral changes starting from the training days. Continuous education and counseling will help to prevent or mitigate such problems.

Psychologists say that behavioral/practica l approaches to stress management include exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet, which includes diverse selections from the basic food groups. In addition, they recommend that the excessive use of alcohol, caffeine and sugar be avoided, as this contributes to fatigue and mood swings. It is also important to allow the body to rest and replenish itself to help the body develop resistance against future stress.

Progressive muscle relaxation is an active form of relaxation, where you contract each major muscle group of your body for about five seconds before loosening the contraction.

Some of the more passive relaxation approaches include listening to music, reading, and using saunas and hot tubs to relieve tension. Techniques used to relax the mind include meditation and visual imagery.

In the meantime meditation teaches you how to clear the mind of stressful and distracting thoughts by focusing the mental energy on your breathing. Visual imagery is designed to help the individual visualize himself/herself coping effectively with a stressor that was previously experienced as overwhelming.

Night work can be hazardous to your health and the demands of working in a stressful environment is a mental and physical strain on your general well being. Dr. Estrella-Gust advise nighttime workers to work on getting enough sleep, eating the right foods and keeping an active, social connection with family and friends. "Recognition of workers' problems in call centers is the first step," she says.