New line on call centres

The constant pressure to answer more calls with fewer people has given us the age of the 'battery call centre'. Thousands of workers worldwide are employed by telephone call centres which have become the new assembly lines. This latest generation of workers is continually under stress, closely monitored by supervisors — who often listen to their calls — and insulted by angry clients.

Everything is aimed at speeding up the pace. Incoming calls must be responded to quickly, with the conversation being kept as short as possible.

While call centres based in industrialised regions where unemployment is high are a godsend for workers back on the job market, employers' main incentives are low wages, economies of scale and the simplicity of installation.

Desk sharing and lack of personal space leaves workers with no sense of identity. Workstations and chairs cater for everyone but suit none. It is important that individuals are able to walk around and take time out from their workstations to avoid muscular-skeletal problems.

The first signs of occupational health problems have already started to emerge. Constant use of the computer is leading to instances of repetitive strain injury. Part-time employees may work up to five hours without a break and unsuitable seating leads to back pain and other muscular-skeletal problems.

Forward thinking call centres are investing in remedial support such as chair massage and reflexology in order to redress the balance, but stronger action needs to be taken to tackle the 'galley slave' syndrome.

If call centres are serious about tackling stress and muscular-skeletal problems, they need to address:

• stress and the physical environment of call centres
  
• flexibility of work pace
  
• space between colleagues
  
• types of facilities
  
• temperature
  
• air conditioning
  
• amount of movement allowed
  
• radiation from the computer system
  
• noise.

Stress management training, whether it be relaxation training, anger-control techniques or assertiveness skills are highly effective in helping workers cope with pressure.

More perspicacious employers and managers are going beyond simple training that helps people cope with the symptoms. They are taking a deeper look at the causes of stress and actively changing working practices, procedures and/or aspects of the environment which give rise to work related illness.

The real potential for increased productivity lies with the team, the people who actually talk to the customers. Give people a reason to do better, to bring more of their intellectual powers to work. If instead of bringing 20 per cent of themselves they decide the job is fun, interesting and fulfilling and bring 40 per cent of their potential, that's a 100 per cent productivity increase and costs nothing in terms of monetary investment. It does cost a lot in terms of management time and effort in creating a coaching culture call centre. But at least the call centre will have a future.