After a year of working as a call center agent, Liza Limarag had to quit. “My health was suffering,” says Liza. The weird working hours and constant lack of sleep resulted to hypertension. She also developed acute bronchitis due to smoking, a habit she picked up to relax her from work tension and to keep her awake in the graveyard shifts.
Add this up with irate callers, high expectations and work targets and Liza was not able to cope. “Our stats requirement was insane, there was just too much pressure. The environment was too toxic, so I had to resign.”
Liza’s case may sound extreme, but the BPO industry has undeniably one of the most stressful work environments around.
“Stress is unavoidable in call centers, says Paul Feranil, a psychologist who has worked with BPO employees. “The setting is fast paced and demanding, and because it is usually customer service oriented, call center employees also have to deal with angry and impatient customers. These results in a great deal of tension for the employees which of course could result to health risks,” the psychologist expounds.
Burning the midnight oil
One of the leading factors that cause stress in the call center is the fact that a vast majority of the employees have to work in the graveyard shift to accommodate the US or European time zones.
“Having to work at night really sucks,” says Joy Ann Nicholas, a customer service representative at a large BPO corporation. “It’s very difficult to adjust. When I was starting as an agent, there was a time when I was only able to sleep for a couple of hours a day because I’m not used to sleeping at daytime.”
Working at night do host a number of health risks. Research from the Cardiff University in Wales linked graveyard, and especially swing and rotating shifts to heart disease. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, also classifies shift work as a "probable" carcinogen.
Aside from the health risk, Joy Ann offers another reason why she hates working at night. “I barely get to speak to my kids,” the mother of two explains. Joy Ann claims that working at night also leaves a strain in her relationship with her family because of the limited availability of quality time with them. “I have to leave for work after we have dinner and I won’t be back until after their off to school.”
Unfortunately, this factor is an inescapable reality in the industry where more than 90 percent of the employees have to work at night. Call center agents like Joy Ann usually have to suffer through the graveyard shift in order to provide for their families. They have to work doubly hard to keep family ties close.
Irate callers, stressed out workers
Most call center employees working in phone support usually lists one thing on top of their most hated list about their job; irate callers. Liza who used to do support for an internet service provider knows this well. “Once I had a customer who could not connect to the internet. Because it’s a systems issue I couldn’t help him out at all. He then proceeded to hurl out curses, and dropped the line. However, he kept calling after every twenty minutes and just insulted and cursed anyone who answered.”
Joy Ann, who does customer service for a travel company also has her share of verbal abuse from condescending customers. “I get at least one of them every night. The hardest to deal with are the racist customers, they’ll insult you and blame you for the lost jobs in the US, it just gets ridiculous sometimes.”
Feranil confirms that verbal abuse from customers can cause many psychological issues including low self esteem. “It can greatly affect the disposition of the employee and can cause anxiety especially to those who are not used to it.”
Fortunately, a lot of call center employees do get used to these angry customers. The agents interviewed attests that the shock and concern caused by these callers do wear off after some time. “After a few months you just won’t care about what they’re saying anymore,” says Liza.
Lifestyle
Another reason Liza cites in leaving the industry is the unhealthy lifestyle that it entailed.
“It’s usually straight to the bars after our shift,” she explains. She said that drinking has become a familiar diversion for her and most of her co-workers. They do this to ease the pressure after a hard night’s work. This would explain why a lot of call center employees are frequent customers of open bars and convenience stores for an early morning round of beer.
Aside from the predilection to alcohol, the call center lifestyle also had other adverse effects to Liza. “I was addicted to coffee and cigarettes,” she shares. To keep awake for the night shift, she usually consumes at least four cups and coffee and five sticks of cigarettes a night. She explained that she picked up the habit from her co-workers and it was practically a necessity when working at night.
People that were interviewed agreed that working in call centers is conducive to some bad habits. However, Joy Ann explains that in her four years of working in a call center, she never picked up any vices. “It’s hard to stay away from them but I try to have self-discipline,” she explains.
Boredom
Most people would agree that call center jobs could get tedious. This is because most BPO jobs involve processes that will be repeated countless of times during the day. Poor management in some call centers also causes very limited job variation that can cause the employees to get easily burnt out.
“It does get excruciatingly boring sometimes.” Liza says in describing call center work.
Joy Ann agrees with this observation. “Answering practically the same question over and over again throughout the day could easily be tiresome,” she explains. However, she views that these
Realizing this, most BPO companies spend considerable resources on trying to break the monotony of call center work. Parties, events and outings are regularly organized by these companies to provide a diversion for the employees. “Our company management understands that they need to keep us motivated or else we’ll go crazy.” Joy Ann explains.
The Sunshine Industry
Despite the complaints, the BPO industry still attracts a horde of applicants and hopefuls. There are currently an estimated 500,000 Filipinos working in the industry currently and thousands more are being added every month. In this time of uncertainty and record high unemployment rates, BPO’s are one of the few bright spots that can light up the country’s economy. Reports suggest that the industry now contributes as much as 12 percent of the country’s gross national product.
According to government and industry forecasts, more than a million Filipinos would be employed in the call center industry, generating at least US$12 billion in revenues by the year 2010. With these trends, it’s clear that the industry in the country has nowhere else to go but up.
These facts are not lost to Liza. With all the health issues behind her, Liza is currently looking for new employment. And surprisingly, she will still be pursuing a career in the contact service industry. Liza cites the relatively high salary as her primary reason. “I am discouraged by the low salary rates in other industries.” she relates. Since quitting from the call center, Liza has tried working in a university and in an industrial plant. None of which was able to provide her the financial security that she had in her former career. “I’ve tried working in other fields and the pay is really unsatisfying considering the amount of work that you do,” she describes.
The BPO industry arguably provides the highest starting salary range in the country. With average starting salaries reaching P13,000 a month, BPO’s, has become a popular option for new graduates and even career shifters. “When I was teaching, I was aghast when I found out that our Department Head only made 16 thousand a month after thirteen years of service. I was making the same amount right out of college in a call center,” explains Liza.
Despite the stress, Joy Ann is not willing to switch careers either. Aside from the salary, Joy Ann also offers another for staying. As BPO’s expand, so is its need for Leaders and Managers. A lot of agents will get to move up the corporate ladder and given other opportunities for improvement. “It’s a common myth that there’s no professional growth in the call center industry. I’ve been promoted twice last year and I can see a bright future in my career.”
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