Human Issues in Call Centers and BPO Industry- A Report

Introduction
The purpose of writing this paper is to address, the Human Issues in Call-Center
s. I am of the opinion that this paper will be use to HR-Heads of Various Call-c
enters, CEO's and Center-Heads and also Team Leaders and Project Managers. BPO/c
all centers has given many gifts to People of India, few of them are: High Stres
s Level, Number of other Illnesses, Broken Marriages Etc. Need is to understand
these issues and address them Properly. To start with, let us understand the tec
hnology involved, history of call centers and Industry, as a whole. You can also
see my article at www.bpoindia.org/research/ or http://www.bpoindia.org/researc
h/call-centers-challenges-for-hr.shtml
History-the beginning of an industry
Carrying out transactions over the telephone has a long history, beginning with
operator services and later, reservations lines, particularly for airlines. But
in the last 15 to 20 years, the introduction of information technologies and tel
ecommunications advances have expanded the types of work it is possible to under
take, while reducing costs. Concurrently, ideas of 'service' and service relatio
nships continue to be redefined as technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, r
endering the public more receptive to mediated service interactions.
There are a variety of factors, which have led to the increase of telephone serv
ices, suggest Richardson and Marshall, including the transformation of telephony
by "the development of digital exchanges, intelligent telephone networks and th
eir integration with computer data bases"; falling telephony costs and the intro
duction of toll-free numbers; the high degree of penetration and familiarity of
telephone technology; and the ability to communicate complex information by phon
e in real time. In addition to technological progress and social advantages, ano
ther likely reason for the burgeoning of the call center industry in the early 1
990s was a significant period of retrenchment in a number of business sectors, i
ncluding a drive towards reducing costs and cutting staff-both of which can be a
ccomplished by centralizing services, reducing branch offices close to the custo
mer, and taking advantage of lower cost real estate and labor costs in locations
outside main business centers. Call centers, of course, permit all of these act
ivities.
The US was in the forefront of the call center movement, yet Nadji Tehrani, edit
or of the first trade publication devoted to the telemarketing and call center i
ndustries, writes that when Telemarketing Magazine was launched in 1982 in the U
nited States, there were "only a handful" of companies conducting market researc
h or handling customer service by phone. He describes the rapidity of technologi
cal development during the ensuing years: "We have seen the use of 3 x 5 cards a
nd rotary dial phones, evolve to push-button telephones to integrated contact ma
nagement software and automated dialing to Web-enabled call centers".
Outsourcing centers that specialize in providing call center services for other
companies are also expanding. Although most call centers in the UK are currently
nationally oriented, there is a move towards pan-European call centers in areas
such as hotels, travel, and computing.
Still, despite its rapid rate of growth, the call center industry is relatively
new. The "vast majority" of call centers in the UK have "existed for less than t
en years" claims Cameron, while Michel notes that in Germany, 25% of call center
s in the country were established before 1991, and 41% during what he terms the
"call center boom" after 1995. A boom is perhaps an accurate term. One estimate
suggests a rate of growth between 20%-25% a year in Canada, while a 1996 Datamon
itor report gave a figure of 40% for call center market growth in Europe, a numb
er anticipated to hold until the turn of the century. Similarly, as mentioned ab
ove, academic interest in call centers is also quite recent, with the bulk of re
ported research beginning in the late 1990s and beginning to accumulate in the l
ast two years.
Understanding- "Call Center"
As a first step, it is useful to establish a definition of a call center. This i
s not a completely straightforward task, as there are considerable variations be
tween types of call centers, which are spread across several sectors of the econ
omy, and which perform different functions for different organizations, both wit
hin and across sectors.
The broadest definition in the call center literature is that provided by Norlin
g, who states "a call center is any communications platform from which firms del
iver services to customers via remote, real-time contact". Callaghan and Thompso
n apply a similarly inclusive definition, stating that call centers may be "broa
dly defined as workplaces that integrate telephone and computer technologies". W
hile these definitions usefully highlight the centrality of communication techno
logy integration in the call center field, it leaves the boundaries of the indus
try somewhat ambiguous. Taylor and Bain narrow the definition by specifying the
types of technologies used: "we define a call center as a dedicated operation in
which computer-utilising employees receive inbound-or make outbound-telephone c
alls, with those calls processed and controlled either by an Automatic Call Dist
ribution (ACD) or predictive dialing system. The call center is thus characteriz
ed by the integration of telephone and VDU technologies."
Other authors narrow their definitions by focusing on the types of services whic
h these integrated technologies are designed to provide. For example, in an earl
y definition, Richardson states "telephone call centers are specialist technolog
y-intensive offices that are established by organizations in order to deliver se
rvices to customers over the telephone, replacing or complementing face-to-face
interaction with the public" . Similarly, Kinnie, Purcell and Hutchinson provide
a tripartite definition incorporating technology, technological control, and ta
sks:
We define call centers in the following way:
1. Employees are engaged in specialist operation which integrate telecommunic
ations and information systems technologies;
2. Their work is controlled by automatic systems which virtually simultaneous
ly distribute work, control the pace of that work and monitor their performance;
3. They are in direct contact with the customer through dealing with in-bound
calls, making out-bound calls or a combination of the two.
Houlihan also includes the types of operations typically performed in a call cen
ter within her definition. She lists the tasks most effectively performed by cal
l centers: "Call centers are centralized, specialized operations for both inboun
d and outbound communication handling. Call center operations are especially sui
ted to information delivery, customer services and sales operations".
Buchanan and Koch-Schulte go one step further and include in their description t
he organizational rationale for establishing call centers:
Call centers are a relatively recent phenomenon made possible by the disseminati
on of telecommunications and information technologies. The technology enables te
lephone service representatives to deal quickly and remotely with customer needs
by connecting the representative to the customer's account information on his/h
er computer as the call is relayed to the headset. As call centers can be centra
lized in locations far from the customers of a business, they allow firms to cut
 costs by reducing the number of local service outlets.
In reviewing these definitions and descriptions, it becomes clear that although
there are variations in stress placed on different elements, there is general ag
reement about which elements are key.
Borrowing from this accumulation, we might, therefore, define a call center as a
specialized office where agents remotely provide information, deliver services,
and/or conduct sales, using some combination of integrated telephone and inform
ation technologies, typically with an aim to enhancing customer service while re
ducing organizational costs.
Understanding - The Call Center "Industry"
There has been some dispute amongst researchers as to whether it is appropriate
to refer to such a thing as the "call center industry". As Bain and Taylor point
out, "despite similarities in the integration of computer and telephone technol
ogies, centers differ in relation to a number of important variables-size, indus
trial sector and market, complexity and length of call cycle time, nature of ope
rations (inbound, outbound or combined), the nature and effectiveness of represe
ntative institutions including trade unions, and management styles and prioritie
s". To this list of variables, Callaghan and Thompson would add the "degree of p
roduct complexity and variability and the depth of knowledge required to deal wi
th the service interaction". Bain and Taylor argue that it is more appropriate t
o use the term "sector", as call Centers are found across a wide range of indust
ries and may be similar primarily in terms of their core technologies. They do n
ote, however, that there is a professional literature and a collective identity
that is maintained and developed through conferences and forums. Belt, Richardso
n and Webster (2000) agree that call centers are not an 'industry' as the term i
s generally defined, but rather represent certain ways of delivering various ser
vices using the telephone and computer technologies across traditional industry
boundaries. However, these authors provide three strong reasons defending the pr
actice of referring to call centers as an industry:
First, the call center community often defines itself as an industry, with numer
ous national and international call center conferences and workshops taking plac
e each year, industry journals and call center forums organized at local levels.
Second, the labor force requirements of call centers are often the same across
sectors. This means that many, though not all, call centers share a common labor
pool. Third, the organizational templates and technologies used tend to be very
similar, regardless of the sector.
To this one might add the remarkable similarities that international researchers
have found between technologies used, work practices and key issues including m
onitoring, control, training, and labor demographics for workers in countries as
diverse as Germany, Japan, Australia, Greece, Canada, the US, the UK and the Ne
therlands.
HUMAN ISSUES IN CALL-CENTER INDUSTRY
Stress
For many employed in the call center sector, "the daily experience is of repetit
ive, intensive and stressful work, based upon Taylorist principles, which freque
ntly results in employee "burnout". Brown, more vividly, characterizes the work
as "repetitive brain strain". These descriptions are hardly surprising, in a way
, given that call centers are established by organizations to "create an environ
ment in which work can be standardized to create relatively uniform and repetiti
ous activities so as to achieve economies of scale and consistent quality of cus
tomer service". This means, in other words, that workplaces are organized in way
s that weaken employee autonomy and enhance the potential for management control
, and "a loss of control is generally understood to be an important indicator of
work-related stress".
There is almost universal consensus that call center work is stressful. Even in
studies that report the observation that some staff actually enjoys their work,
mention of stress is still the norm, and a significant portion of the call cente
r literature is devoted to detailing the sources of stress in call center work.
Four Key stressors
'Can we get off the phone for a while?'
The primary source of stress reported is inherent to the nature of the job: spen
ding all day on the phone dealing with people one after another, day after day,
is difficult. Doing it under constant pressure to keep call volumes up, with no
time between calls to "recover from an awkward call or from 'customer rejection'
" is even more difficult. And doing it with "very little authority or autonomy t
o rectify problems" that arise is perhaps the most difficult of all. Many studie
s report agents as wanting to 'just get off the phones'. For example, Belt and c
olleagues note "agents in all three sectors [financial services, IT, and third-p
arty services] spoke of the phenomenon of 'burnout', caused by the pressure of w
orking exclusively 'on the phones'". In the same study, the authors mention that
the issue of 'burnout' was also recognized by some managers: "It was pointed ou
t that managers face an inherent conflict between the need to reduce staff bored
om and labor turnover, and the pressure to concentrate staff energies on telepho
ne based work".
"The question of how call center employees deal with stress is an important one,
particularly in view of evidence that a build-up of stress leads to illness, ab
senteeism and turnover," writes Houlihan. Many authors agree, and there are a va
riety of individual coping mechanisms described in the literature. Tricks to cir
cumvent control mechanisms, such as those discussed above are sometimes mentione
d as attempts at stress reduction, although they are unreliable in this role as
they may also increase stress. Others mention social interaction squeezed into b
rief moments--Callaghan and Thompson describe agents using humorous (or rude) ge
stures towards the phone, or making faces at colleagues to defuse stress over an
gry or abusive callers, and making jokes to combat the tedium of the day. Lanksh
ear and Mason describe a similarly social approach to reducing tension in one of
the sites they observed, where staff often laughed and joked with one another i
n intervals between calls, with management's approval. More formally, some call
centers include stress management as a component in training programs, and many
have, or claim to have, team de-briefings which permit staff to vent frustration
s while discussing difficult calls or dissatisfactions with elements of work.
Knights and McCabe take a different approach to stress in the workplace. They no
te that although much organizational analysis and most of the call center litera
ture tends to conceptualize stress as an individual problem, it is actually loca
ted within "a framework that emphasizes the interrelationships between structura
l relations of power and the subjective interpretations and actions of employees
". This more nuance positioning may provide more insight into call center condit
ions, as it allows a researcher to consider the response of employees "forced to
interpret the often contradictory demands management place upon them" including
"contradictions over service quality versus the quantity of work output". "Clearl
y," these authors write, "staff face some fundamental contradictions over unity
versus conflict, uncertainty versus certainty, quality versus quantity and these
are at the heart of the reproduction of stress, resistance and control". This f
ocus on the "contradictory" nature of demands strikes at the heart of the second
inherent sources of stress in (primarily inbound) call center works: the qualit
y/quantity conflict.
Quality/Quantity conflict
Typically, organizational rhetoric in inbound call centers is concerned with 'cu
stomer care', or 'keeping customers happy' (providing quality service), yet thes
e goals are juxtaposed with an ongoing pressure to keep call times down and call
volumes up. Houlihan describes the difficulty concisely:
Call centers are rooted in contradictory tensions and structural paradoxes, and
confront a number of trade-offs on that basis. These set a context for attitudes
towards the organization and can impose conflicting role requirements on agents
. A core example is that of the pressure for quantity versus the aspiration for
quality, the guiding logic of which is the conundrum of trying to get closer to
the customer while routinising, centralizing, reducing costs and prescribing sta
ndards.
The dichotomy is not completely straightforward, it is important to note. Part o
f providing quality service from a management perspective is making sure custome
rs do not wait too long for their calls to be answered, even though the push to
keep queue waiting times short is typically categorized as part of the pressure
towards quantity. As Bain points out, "efforts to attain what is perceived to be
the desired balance between the quantity and the quality of calls presents a pe
rennial challenge".
The practice of ongoing work practice modification and target revision as manage
ment swings from one side to another of the quality/quantity debate is a major s
ource of stress for call center agents. As Houlihan notes: "The practice of putt
ing a 'drive' on particular targets for improvement (for example, the collection
of renewal dates, the up-selling or cross-selling of products, the quality of d
ata input, or the intensity of sales push) and continual reprioritisation means
that the 'goalposts' are constantly shifting". Virtually all of the call center
authors who write about work conditions mention the difficulty of dealing with t
hese competing goals. Korczynski and colleagues suggest that this dilemma is par
ticularly difficult for front-line workers because they may be likely "to identi
fy with embodied individual customers, for interactions with specific customers
may be an important arena for meaning and satisfaction within the work". They co
ntrast this customer-as-individual orientation to the managerial goal of balanci
ng customer orientation with efficiency, which they suggest leads management to
prefer workers to identify with a generic category, 'the customer', since "such
a disembodied image of the customer will encourage workers to deal with individu
al customers efficiently because they will be conscious of the concerns of other
customers waiting in a queue".
Intensity
The third central stressor in call center work is its intensity. As Bain (2001)
argues, "far from being either in terminal decline or on the wane, Taylorism-in
conjunction with a range of other control mechanisms-is not only alive, well and
deeply embedded in the call center labour process, but its malevolent influence
appears to be spreading to previously uncharted territory". There is widespread
consensus that "call centers are a new, and particularly effective, manifestati
on of the increasingly capital intensive 'industrialization' of service sector w
ork, and work performed in them is highly intensive and routine".
Buchanan and Koch-Schulte quote one call center worker who describes the constan
t pressure graphically: Ellen: It's almost like the army. It's very regimented.
You punch in with a time clock. You come in and you sit down, and the numbers ar
e all computerized. As soon as you finish a call, the minute you hang up another
call comes up just this constant, all day, repetitious constant sort of like beat
ing on a drum, but day after day.
The pace of work is determined by the combination of technologies that deliver c
alls to the headset and account details to the screen, and workers often have no
control over this process.
Descriptions such as "exhausting," "robotic," "controlled," and agents discussin
g the nature of their work often use "machine-like". Houlihan expands on the ide
a of controlled, machine-like agents by suggesting that this is in fact exactly
the way that the organization conceives of them:
Call centers are information handling organizations. As currently characterized,
the job of the agent is to be the voice of the organization, interfacing with t
he client or customer.
The organization rehearses the things it wants said and feeds them through the a
gent. The agent is largely constructed as a mouthpiece rather than as a brain.
Buchanan and Koch-Schulte spoke with a call-center worker who articulated her fe
elings about the organization's expectations of its agents in very similar terms
: Rosa: You are standing waiting to be used by the technology, and it's a physic
al embodiment of that. You are standing, waiting until that call comes in to use
you to make money. And you are simply another part of that machine.
When this feeling of being a cog in a machine which never stops as it grinds on,
repeating the same actions over and over again, is combined with "the cumulativ
e emotional demands presented by the interpersonal nature of the work", stress i
s inevitable.
Targets
There is a fourth feature of some call center work that may engender stress: per
formance targets. There are various types of targets, which may vary between inb
ound and outbound centers. Inbound centers typically have targets for call durat
ion, 'wrap time', and daily call volume. Outbound centers often also have sales
or 'completion' targets, which are closely monitored and upon which pay may be p
artially based. In addition, in some sectors, inbound call centers are attemptin
g to introduce the practice of cross selling, where agents attempt to sell addit
ional products to the customers who call in for another purpose. In these center
s, sales targets similar to those in outbound centers are often in place.
Taylor and Bain argue that particularly in the financial services industry in th
e UK, targets are a significant source of stress for workers as more and more im
portance is placed upon meeting them in an increasingly competitive business env
ironment. Sales targets, in particular, are difficult to accept, or meet, for st
aff who often consider themselves as service personnel, particularly when they a
re set centrally and implemented locally: "Cross-selling is seen by employees, n
ot as an opportunity to engage in creative work, but as an additional and acute
source of pressure". This is especially the case when sales targets are parachut
ed in on top of service targets set originally when there was no pressure to pro
duce sales.
As a CSR in Taylor and Bain's study emphasizes: "When somebody phones in for a b
alance you have to try to get a sale or get them interested as well as turning t
he call round in 155 seconds".
Even in centers that claim not to prioritize targets, researchers have found tha
t staff often feels significant pressure. Targets simply intensify the stress pr
oduced by the quantity/quality debate, or, as one agent is quoted as saying, "Th
ey say that they're not really interested in numbers. They say that they are mor
e into quality. Well, that's a lie. They're usually more into numbers than anyth
ing". It is important not to over generalize however. While most call centers do
have some targets, they are a source of stress that is directly under managemen
t control. Some call centers are managed in such a way that targets are set to r
ealistically reflect local conditions, are interpreted in light of other, more s
ubjective information, and are not used punitively or to intensify work. In some
they are even used effectively to motivate and encourage staff. For example, La
nkshear and Mason describe a series of conversations with managers in their call
center site where management consistently conceptualized their performance repo
rts (for example, one commented that it's 'human nature' for productivity to dro
p before and after a holiday), and used their stats as an excuse to praise good
performance and coach those who consistently had difficulty meeting targets: "Ou
r best bet is to develop the people we have got" one manager is quoted as saying
.
Other Health issues
The result of intense, stressful work may be an effect on workers' health. There
are often high rates of absenteeism and sick leave reported in the literature,
although there is relatively little exploration of these issues, particularly wh
en compared to turnover. Most often, authors provide a brief list of known healt
h issues. For example, Richardson, Belt and Marshall write that "Health concerns
have been expressed, including tension, sleeplessness, headaches, eye-strain, r
epetitive strain injury (RSI), voice loss, hearing problems and burn-out", but t
hey do not develop the point. More detailed descriptions of the causes and effec
ts of these ailments can be found in industry and trades union reports. For exam
ple, the Trades Union Council (TUC) in its brochure targeted at call center work
ers, cites the main illnesses to which call center staff are prone: "back strain
and RSI, stress, eyestrain, and voice and hearing loss".
Also in the UK, regulators have been proactive in their examination of the indus
try, with the Health and Safety Executive issuing a bulletin on call center regu
lations, health risks and best practices in December 2001. They looked specifica
lly at health issues including stress, noise levels, musculoskeletal disorders (
such as back problems) and voice loss, and also at display screen issues, workin
g environments, requirements for work stations, daily work routines, training, o
rganizational working practices and shifts.
Sleeping Disorders
No prizes for guessing the most severe ailment afflicting people working in Indi
an call centers. Since this is a unique Indian problem, again, no solution appea
rs in sight. Obviously this affects first timers more severely, as they take tim
e to acclimatize their biological clocks, but even experienced people or manager
s are not able to completely escape from it. Some call centers are looking at de
vising innovative mechanisms like flexible shifts with sleeping arrangements in
the office premises as possible solutions.
Digestive System Related Disorders
Working long and odd hours without any sleep, and eating food supplied by extern
al caterers everyday, has led to 41.9% of the respondents suffering from digesti
ve problems. Especially for the large number of girls working in the industry, t
he problem is even more severe. Many call centers are now taking additional care
to ensure their caterers supply hygienic food; besides stipulating strict condi
tions to maintain the quality of the food they serve.
Depression
In last year's survey, this was not among the top disorders, but this year it ha
s climbed up the chart, affecting nearly one-fourth of the respondents. Not surp
rising, since, as the industry matures, the initial glitz and glamour wears away
and the real problems come to the fore. Not only are there several health relat
ed issues, but, on top of that, the gradual realization that there is limited sc
ope in developing a career owing to fewer growth opportunities is increasing the
frustration levels. Coupled with growing mental fatigue and increasingly punish
ing physical environments, depression is the obvious end result. Some call cente
rs have now devised different stress management programs mainly to counter depre
ssion.
Severe Stomach Related Problems
Continuing digestive problems lead to severe stomach disorders like gastroenteri
tis, as endorsed by more than 24% of the respondents. Even doctors in major citi
es agree-in recent times many of the patients with various stomach ailments are
from call centers.
Eyesight Problems
Globally call center industry employees are considered a high-risk group for eye
-related problems. While the quality of monitors might impact these disorders, s
itting continually without adequate breaks seems to be the truer reason. The num
ber of people affected seems to be on the rise-last year only 19% complained; th
is year it has gone up to 23%. At some point of time, this problem might also af
flict the IT services industry, but for the call center industry, no remedy seem
s to be in sight.
Ear Problems
More than 16% of the respondents inform that they have hearing problems. Again,
no surprises here, since a call center job involves taking calls throughout the
shift, sitting with headphones. While quality of headphones does make a differen
ce, it would not be correct to completely wish the problem away by thinking that
changing headphones will solve it.
Some other Human Issues, in Call-Centers, which need Immediate Attention
Personal habits
The young executives are getting more than five figure salaries per month in an
early age. They tend to develop certain bad habits such as alcohol, smoking etc.
It is not easy to identify such individuals. It is also very sensitive to talk
to them. The professional counselors can conduct group-counseling, workshops, ed
ucative film shows in order to create awareness on effects of bad habits. Such a
ctions will enable individuals to realize the importance of good habits and they
could seek one to one Counseling sessions to solve their problems.
Discipline and behavioral issues
Call centers provide excellent working environment, free food and transportation
. There is always a situation where individual or group of youngsters tend to co
mmit mistakes and abuse the freedom. They start behaving like in college campus
where they have more freedom. However, the call center executives have more resp
onsibility and accountability, they need to follow discipline and do well in the
job. The most common behavior is misuse of food, behave erratically in vans, an
d smoke in public places, misuse of telephones and other resources of the compan
y. The supervisors always concentrate on performance and achieving targets. They
do not have time or interest to go deep into these matters and find out the rea
sons for such behavior. The professional counselor can play a major role in educ
ating the youngsters on discipline; provide advice to erring executives. The cou
nselors with their wisdom and experience can tackle such issues tactfully and br
ing change within the individuals.
As said earlier, to majority of them this is the first employment and they are f
resh out of the colleges. Few tend to behave differently and they have the "do n
ot care" attitude. Such executives will not take their job seriously, they indul
ge in teasing, and joking, talking over mobile phones, have friction within the
team. These aspects may go noticed or unnoticed by the supervisors.
The fact remains that such unacceptable behaviors will cause disturbance to othe
rs and overall it affects the productivity. Sleeping while on duty, reading nove
ls and playing games on the computer during working hours brings down productivi
ty and quality suffers. The HR representatives and professional counselors joint
ly have a role to bring behavioral change starting from the training days. Conti
nuous education and Counseling will help to mitigate such problems and it is pos
sible to prevent serious problems.
Inter-personal relationship and friendship
Executives develop friendship quickly and sometime the friendship breaks and the
re will be misunderstanding among the team members and naturally affects the tea
m performance. The supervisors and counselors can play a major role to sort out
the interpersonal relationship and develop team spirit. Healthy relationship amo
ng the team members has always helped the team to out perform. When the relation
ship fails the individuals will also break down mentally. They either absent for
duties or fall ill or the performance will come down. It is also true that due
to misunderstanding and break in friendship they change jobs quickly.
Love affair and marriages
Few of the boys and girls fall in love quickly. They maintain the healthy relati
onship, behave in a matured manner, plan the future course of action and such pe
rsons have got married with the consent of their parents. They work together in
the same organization for longer duration. There are instances, where lovers fal
l apart, start disliking, creating troubles to each other and vitiating the atmo
sphere. They are immature, take instant decisions to break or unite and sometime
s go to an extent of damaging others reputation. The professional counselors can
play an important role in explaining the importance of marriage, preparation re
quired for marriage, how to enter the institution of marriage, which is acceptab
le to both parents and society and about the new role and responsibility after g
etting married. Counseling services can definitely give emotional support to ind
ividuals.
Absenteeism
Absenteeism is very high in calls centers. Employees tend to be very irregular t
o the duty due to various reasons. The professional counseling services to such
irregular employees on one to one basis will help to bring down the absenteeism.
The counselor can educate and explain the importance of attending duties to ear
n the salary and also to meet the organizational goals. Each individual are uniq
ue and the problem they face are also different in nature. Only the professional
counselors can understand, analyze and provide long lasting solutions for the i
ndividuals.
Higher education and part time jobs
It is possible to do higher education while working in BPO units. Few organizati
ons encourage and offer support services to pursue higher education. However, th
e time management by the executives is crucial to go forward in education as wel
l as to maintain the performance and career growth. Programmes on time managemen
t, tips to study, tips to keep fit and such other programmes can be offered. The
se steps would help to seek the loyalty of employees to the organizations and he
lps greatly for the retention of employees.
Organizations do not grant permission to pursue part time jobs while working in
BPO units. In order to make quick money and to have options open to change the j
obs in future will drive the employees to do part time work. Human body does not
permit to stretch beyond one's capacity. The executives need to take sufficient
rest in the daytime so that energy levels are maintained. Either due to lack of
experience or due to compulsions, the executives keep their one feet in call ce
nter and another in part time jobs. In the long run this would affect individual
s health. The HR executives must identify such persons and offer professional Co
unseling services to them.
Remedial Measures for Stress Management
Understanding that the "Stress" is a major concern for all Call-Center Employees
, it is a duty of HR-heads of Call-Centers to address it properly. Some of the c
ommon signs and symptoms of stress Although we all experience stress in differen
t ways, there are certain signs that are most frequently reported. These signs f
all into two major categories; physical/behavioral signs and emotional signs. If
we become aware of our own stress symptoms, we will be more effective in dealin
g with them sooner rather than later. What follows is a list of some of the most
experienced symptoms of stress.
The physical/behavioral symptoms include; muscular tension, muscle spasms and ti
cs, rapid heart beat, shortness of breath and high blood pressure, cold hands an
d feet, backaches, headaches and neck aches, stomach problems, indigestion, irri
table bowel and ulcers, feeling fatigued, irritable, decreased ability to concen
trate, insomnia and changes in eating behavior. Since these physical symptoms ma
y be related to physical problems, you should consult with your medical doctor b
efore you assume that your symptoms are purely stress-related.
The emotional symptoms include; anxiety in a variety of situations not limited t
o the stressful situation, depression, hopelessness and a strong urge to cry wit
hout specific incident, withdrawal from social interactions and avoidance of pre
viously enjoyed activities, powerlessness and decreased self esteem, hostility,
anger and resentment, fears, phobias and unwanted thoughts.
Learning to become more aware of your own stress symptoms is the first major ste
p in the stress management and healing process. It is often helpful to monitor y
our daily symptoms in a stress diary where you match the stressful events with t
he symptom experienced. For example; you made find that if you are stuck in earl
y morning traffic you may experience irritability and headaches. In this case it
will be important to use these symptoms as a cue that you have to begin managin
g that stress more effectively when it happens.
What are the consequences of unmanaged stress?
We all know that stress is something that doesn't feel good to us physically and
emotionally. What is even more compelling is what happens below the surface eac
h time we experience stress. Stress researcher Hans Selye, determined what happe
ns internally each time we experience something as threatening or stressful. Acc
ording to Selye, when we perceive a threat in the environment the thinking part
of the brain sends an alarm message to the nervous system via the hypothalamus.
The nervous system then makes changes in the body that prepare you to handle the
perceived danger ahead. These changes include increases in heart rate and blood
pressure as well as pupil dilation. In addition, there are hormones and chemica
ls secreted such as adrenaline, that give the body the necessary push to be able
to manage the threat ahead. Although there are situations in which these adrena
line surges are very helpful in helping us mobilize, the constant adrenaline sur
ges due to repeatedly perceived threats, have a toxic effect on the body. For ex
ample, recurrent adrenaline surges inhibit some of the other important functions
in the body including growth and tissue repair, digestion and the immune respon
se.
Just as the thinking part of your brain is responsible for turning the stress re
sponse on, you can turn it off by changing the threatening appraisals you are ma
king. Once you are able to determine that a threat does not exist or that it can
be effectively managed, your thinking brain stops sending panic messages to the
nervous system. As a result of this reappraisal, the hormones and chemicals cea
se to be released and the body returns to normal.
Bringing the body back to an "un-stressed" state is very important since almost
every system in the body can be damaged by stress. Although our bodies are adapt
ive and can recover from periodic stressors, chronic stress has serious conseque
nces. We experience the consequences of stress on three important levels; physic
ally, emotionally and behaviorally. What follows is a description of the specifi
c consequences in these three categories.
Physically, the body is likely to develop a stress-related disease as a result o
f the stress toxins that are released. For example, chronic stress can lead to c
ardiovascular disease by elevating blood pressure, damaging the heart and arteri
es and increasing blood sugar. Respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchi
tis can result from stress-triggered changes in the lungs. When stress inhibits
the body's digestive functions, diseases such as ulcers, colitis and chronic dia
rrhea can occur. In addition, stress contributes to inhibited growth of tissue a
nd bone which can lead to decalcification and osteoporosis. The immune system is
also inhibited by the reduced efficiency of the white blood cells, making the b
ody more susceptible to disease. Increased muscle tension, fatigue and headaches
are additional consequences of chronic stress.
The second category of consequences of chronic stress is the emotional consequen
ces. Depression can result form chronic stress due to the constant release and d
epletion of norepinephrine. What also contributes to the depression is the thoug
ht that life is terrible and that it is never going to get better. What then res
ults is a feeling of helplessness and ineffectiveness, feeling like a failure an
d a reduction in self-confidence. Individuals who are depressed are also likely
to withdraw from relationships and isolate themselves which often increases the
intensity of the depression. In addition, anxiety and fearfulness are commonly f
elt emotions if someone constantly perceives threats around the corner. In addit
ion, individuals who are chronically stressed are likely to exhibit increased cy
nicism, rigidity, sarcasm and irritability since they believe that their situati
on is not likely to improve.
Chronic stress also has significant behavioral consequences. The behavioral cons
equences often result from the innate survival urge we have to seek relief, to f
ight or to flee. Unfortunately, these relief-seeking behaviors eventually become
problematic. For example, "addictive behaviors" can result from the repeated ef
forts to soothe or escape the painful stress. Alcohol, drugs, smoking and overea
ting are often seen as tools to help manage the stress even though their effects
are short lived and the consequences of chronic use are destructive to the body
and mind. Unfortunately the mind's ability to deny the long-term consequences i
n order to fill the short-term need to escape perpetuates the problem and increa
ses the excessive use behavior. Similarly, procrastination, poor planning, exces
sive sleeping and the avoidance of responsibility are examples of behaviors used
by stressed individuals to temporarily flee from the pain. What is most signifi
cant about these behaviors is their ability to generate additional problems that
are as severe as the original stressor. For example, procrastination or avoidan
ce of the management of a stressor only serves to increase anxiety and exacerbat
e the stress experience.
The stress consequences reviewed above suggest that in addition to being physica
lly and psychologically distressing, they reduce the likelihood of effective goa
l reaching. The rationale for properly managing and coping with the stress is fo
r health protection in the future as well as making the present more productive
and satisfying.
Managing Stress
Since stress is an inevitable fact of life that we can't always prevent, our eff
orts need to be focused on coping with stress more effectively. What follows is
a description of a three pronged approach to stress management which includes be
havioral/practical techniques, relaxation techniques and cognitive/thinking tech
niques.
The behavioral/practical approaches to stress management include exercise and ea
ting a healthy, balanced diet, which includes selections from the basic food gro
ups. In addition, it is recommended that one avoid the excessive use of alcohol,
caffeine and sugar, which contribute to fatigue and vulnerability to mood swing
s. It is also important to allow the body to rest and replenish to help inoculat
e the body against future stress. Building this stress resistance also includes
scheduling time for leisure and pleasure, which provides for a more balanced, fu
lfilling life. Anticipating and preparing for recurrent stressors by managing ti
me, setting priorities and limits, delegating responsibility, and not procrastin
ating are helpful stress reducing strategies. These techniques are effective str
ess management tools because their utilization is within our control.
The relaxation approaches to stress management include a variety of techniques d
esigned to help you effectively manage the body/mind tension. Progressive muscle
relaxation is an active form of relaxation where you individually contract the
major muscle groups of your body for about five seconds and then you relax the i
ndividual muscle groups for a five second holds. The contrast experienced by thi
s exercise relieves muscle tension and relaxes the body. Some of the more passiv
e relaxation approaches include listening to music, reading and using saunas and
hot tubs to relieve tension. Techniques used to relax the mind include meditati
on and visual imagery. Meditation teaches you how to clear the mind of stressful
and distracting thoughts by focusing the mental energy on positive coping thoug
hts. Visual imagery is designed to help the individual visualize him/herself cop
ing effectively with a stressor that was previously experienced as overwhelming.
The behavioral and relaxation approaches described above are necessary but not
sufficient conditions for stress management. The third prong to stress managemen
t, the cognitive or thinking approach, is essential to effective coping with str
ess.
The cognitive or thinking approaches are an integral part of coping effectively
with stress and now the primary focus of many stress management programs. Since
it has been determined that we can turn off the stress response by changing our
threatening/dangerous event appraisals to appraisals that help us view these eve
nts as manageable challenges, we have a direct link to controlling the stress re
sponse. The first step in the cognitive approach is to identify our thoughts or
internal dialog that is negative, perfectionist, black and white, rigid and dema
nding. In other words, you are more likely to experience stress if you believe t
hat you, the world and other people "should or must" behave in a manner consiste
nt with your demands and standards. For example, you are likely to experience st
ress if you believe that the world and your life should be stress free and that
you do not have the resources to handle stress if it does occur. In addition, de
mands of perfection on yourself and on others important to you, increases the ch
ance of feeling stressed since these expectations are unrealistic and rigid. Aft
er identifying your stress producing thoughts you are then able to move onto the
second step in the cognitive approach; recognizing the consequences of this neg
ative, rigid dialog.
The motivation to change the stress-producing dialog comes from the determinatio
n that there are serious consequences that result form these negative, rigid tho
ughts. When you talk to yourself in a defeated, pessimistic or rigid way, you de
ny your ability to cope and are not likely to manage situations effectively or m
eet goals you set. In addition, perfectionist demands are experienced as appropr
iately unrealistic and contribute to a "why bother" attitude. This attitude redu
ces the likelihood that you will address these demands since it is a realistic f
act that no one or nothing is ever perfect. Once you are convinced that the dial
og is negative and counterproductive, you are ready to move on to the third step
in the cognitive approach; challenging and replacing the negative internal dial
og with a healthier, more productive internal dialog.
This important step in the reappraisal process requires that you challenge your
rigid dialog by asking yourself a series of questions about that rigid dialog. F
or example, "Why must I perform perfectly in order to believe I am a valuable hu
man being?" In addition, "Does that demand for perfection increase my anxiety an
d reduce the likelihood that I perform well at all?" "What would I feel like and
would I be more motivated if I changed my demand for perfection to a desire to
do well?" Another example of this reappraisal process can be seen in the area of
criticism and rejection. A negative internal dialog that would create stress in
this area is "I am worthless because I was rejected and this proves that no one
will ever love me." A healthy challenge to this belief would be, "How does the
opinion of this person reflect my personal worth?' "How does it follow that this
rejection will lead to future rejections?" It is also important to add, " Even
if I were to get rejected repeatedly, could I work to make desired changes in my
personality without condemning myself or feeling worthless?" By replacing the n
egative, rigid dialog with more realistic, flexible dialog, you are more likely
to feel healthier emotionally and behave more rationally and productively.
The behavioral, relaxation and cognitive techniques described above have been de
termined to be effective ways to manage and cope more effectively with stress. T
he techniques give the control back to the individual and empower him/her to man
age the inevitable stressors that will occur in life.
Conclusion
It is desirable to employ professional HR Professionals with knowledge of Human
Psychology in BPO units/call centers. The services offered by professionals may
not be felt in the initial stages. Companies like Tata, L&T, MICO and few others
have employed professionals in their factories. The professionals can do wonder
s in BPO sectors as well. People are the backbone of BPO industry and it is cert
ain that professional HR or Human Psychologist can make inroad in this emerging
organization and facilitate the growth of organization in an immense way.