High level of perceived risk among call centre operators
Published: 20 December 2007
The call centre industry is growing rapidly in Italy: the customer relationship management (CRM) group Customer Management Multimedia Competence estimates that some 250,000 operators are employed in 1,400 companies. Call centres are currently perceived as the archetype of a post-industrial society, unlike production assembly lines which were viewed in the context of the industrial society.
Working conditions and health and safety risks in call centres are attracting increasing attention from both occupational therapists and sociologists. A study carried out in seven ‘in-house’ call centres shows higher stress and health risks than among those working in ‘outsourcing’ call centres, although the former seem to offer better legal and contractual protection than the latter.
Background
The call centre industry is growing rapidly in Italy: the customer relationship management (CRM) group Customer Management Multimedia Competence estimates that some 250,000 operators are employed in 1,400 companies. Call centres are currently perceived as the archetype of a post-industrial society, unlike production assembly lines which were viewed in the context of the industrial society.
The report Occupational risk factors in call centres (in Italian, 2.1Mb PDF) (Fattori di rischio occupazionale nei call centres) summarises the initial results of a study carried out by the Occupational Health Services (Documentazione Regionale Salute, Dors) in the Piemonte region in northwestern Italy, in cooperation with the largest Italian trade union, the General Confederation of Italian Labour (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, Cgil). The study was conducted between November 2005 and January 2006 in seven ‘in-house’ call centres. The centres are units of large companies devoted to customer care in Piemonte. Some 755 of over 1,800 operators completed and returned the questionnaire, representing a response rate of about 42%.
Details of survey respondents
The large majority of respondents, at 72.1%, consisted of permanent workers, while 20.4% of the respondents were fixed-term contract workers (Table 1). A further breakdown showed that 74% of the respondents were women, while 97.6% of respondents were operators, mainly employed in customer care (62%), although they often rotate various tasks.
| Total number of respondents | % of respondents | |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent workers | 544 | 72.1 |
| Fixed-term workers | 154 | 20.4 |
| Economically dependent workers | 27 | 3.6 |
| Apprentices | 17 | 2.3 |
| Agency workers | 10 | 1.2 |
| n/a | 3 | 0.4 |
| Total | 755 | 100.0 |
Source: Dors, 2007
In terms of working hours, the average working time of respondents was 31.5 hours a week. Working time mainly consisted of daily shifts five days a week: 96.1% of the respondents usually worked according to this schedule. Nonetheless, 57% of those surveyed sometimes worked in the evening, while 33.8% sometimes worked at weekends and 10.7% alternatively worked night shifts (Table 2). Fewer than 3% of respondents report that their work schedules are changed just one day in advance.
| Shift type | Total number of respondents | % of respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Daily shift (8.00–18.00) | 722 | 96.1 |
| Evenings (18.00–22.00) | 428 | 57.0 |
| Weekends | 254 | 33.8 |
| Nights (22.00–8.00) | 80 | 10.7 |
Source: Dors, 2007
Health risks in call centres
The main risk factors reported are as follows:
ergonomic problems – 33% of respondents report problems with the wrist while using a computer keyboard and 22% while using a mouse;
lighting – 40% of respondents complain of inadequate lighting, while 88% complain of screen glare;
noise – levels are too high for 79% of respondents;
air circulation – some 77% of respondents complain of inadequate ventilation.
Stress is investigated according to the Karasek-Theorell ‘demand–control model’, which suggests that the combination of high job demands and low decision latitude (job control) results in perceived job stress. The findings are compared between the Piemonte region and two southern European regions for all occupations (de Smet et al, 2005). The job demand index in the Piemonte call centres is higher than the average for the southern European regions for both sexes, at 33.9 compared with 30.2 for men and 34.6 compared with 30.7 for women respectively (Table 3). Conversely, the job control index is clearly lower in the Piemonte call centres compared with the southern regions at 51.3 compared with 66.6 for men and 50.8 compared with 62.6 for women respectively, thus indicating a wide perception of stress.
Moreover, the psychological health status of respondents in the Piemonte call centres is well below the Italian average, while physical conditions are similar to the general population (see the 2002 report Health care and health services use (in Italian) from the National Institute for Statistics (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, Istat)).
| Men | Women | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piemonte call centres | All occupations Southern Europe | Piemonte call centres | All occupations Southern Europe | |
| Job demand index | 33.9 | 30.2 | 34.6 | 30.7 |
| Job control index | 51.3 | 66.6 | 50.8 | 62.6 |
Source: Dors, 2007
Table 4 summarises the findings in relation to the health problems reported ‘often or always’ and ‘sometimes’ by the respondents; it also indicates whether respondents had a medical consultation or took any medicine in the four weeks prior to the survey. Both sexes most frequently cite problems with their vision (about 90% each), followed by headaches (77.4% for men and 88.4% for women) and musculoskeletal disorders (73.8% and 80.1% respectively). On the other hand, medical intervention or use of medicines is most frequent when musculoskeletal disorders are cited (52.8% for men and 58.2% for women), followed by headaches (45.6% and 65.5% respectively) and vocal problems (38.5% and 48.7% respectively). In general, women report higher occurrences of health problems and need for medical intervention.
| Men | Women | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported | Need for medical intervention | Reported | Need for medical intervention | |
| Problems with vision | 89.2 | 34.9 | 90.7 | 41.1 |
| Headaches | 77.4 | 45.6 | 88.4 | 65.5 |
| Musculoskeletal disorders | 73.8 | 52.8 | 80.1 | 58.2 |
| Insomnia, anxiety, depression | 69.2 | 27.7 | 77.9 | 35.0 |
| Problems with voice | 66.1 | 38.5 | 75.7 | 48.7 |
| Stomach problems | 59.0 | 32.3 | 73.2 | 47.7 |
| Hearing problems | 52.3 | 19.0 | 59.5 | 19.6 |
Note: Findings denote health problems reported either ‘often or always’ or ‘sometimes’ by the survey respondents.
Source: Dors, 2007
Comparison with outsourcing call centres
It is useful to compare the findings of this study with other studies carried out mainly in ‘outsourcing’ call centres – companies specialising in providing CRM services to both private companies and the public sector (see 2006 Guidelines for work in call centres (in Italian, 605Kb PDF) compiled by the Occupational Health Services of Milan). Workers attached to in-house call centres report similar working conditions but poorer health conditions than those working in outsourcing centres. Longer hours and higher seniority in the former therefore seem to counterbalance the lower job security in the latter, although neither surveys addressed this issue explicitly.
Reference
De Smet, P. et al, ‘Gender and regional differences in perceived job stress across Europe’, European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 15, No. 5, 2005, pp. 536–545.
Mario Giaccone, Fondazione Regionale Pietro Seveso
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2007), High level of perceived risk among call centre operators, article.
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