AuxBreak

So your Boss is a Monster?

2009-04-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

True of False

1. Your boss an egotistical, power-tripping, self-aggrandizing moron.
2. The mere thought of your boss walking to your workstation is enough to make you quiver.
3. Your boss is a jerk.
4. You wish your relationship with your boss could get better.

If you answered TRUE to any one of these questions, read on.

Most of us know how hard it is to work with a tough boss; the impossible demands, the inappropriate comments, the terrorizing demeanor. You’ve tried everything to make it better and you still have the same problem. You probably have your resignation letter ready, just in case you can’t take it anymore.

But wait, before you do anything drastic, try some of our strategies to tame the monster boss.

Know What You’re Dealing With

Observe how your boss interacts with his subordinates, is he formal or is he more relaxed? Do not completely mimic how he speaks with you lest you want to be accused of mocking but point yourself to his general disposition.

For example, if your boss is the formal type, never be the one all acting like you’re chums when you are speaking with each other. Same goes if your boss is all relaxed when addressing you, do not be the one looking all grim and formal.

Learn How to Address the Master

Know how your boss transacts his business and do your best to follow suit.

Learn how your boss communicates. Does he stick to email and conversations or is he flexible enough for the occasional IM or text? Keep in mind, never communicate in a method that your boss have not used with you, especially informal methods like IM or text. This will make you look presumptuous or worse, unprofessional.

Learn from Others

Learn from coworkers that click with the boss. Observe how they interact, what are the traits that your superior seems to like? It doesn’t mean that you have to be the same way, but it will help you learn a lot about your boss and what makes him tick. Does he like industrious and hardworking people or does he stick with ass-kissing lynches? Find out and decide afterwards if these are traits that you can emulate.

Don’t tease the Tiger

What make your boss mad? Know it by heart and avoid it like a plague. For example, eating at your work station or browsing sites unrelated to work may not be a big deal for you, but this could be a deal breaker for your boss.

Got reprimanded for being habitually late? Don’t be an idiot and avoid doing it again. Nothing sets off anyone more than having to point out mistakes again and again.

Shut your Big Mouth

Never, ever complain about the boss when you’re in the office. The walls have ears and they are sharper than you think. You may think that going on a rant about your boss while you’re in the pantry is a good way to release work-stress, but it’s actually the quickest way to the unemployment line.

Break Glass in Case of Emergency – In Case your Boss is a Total Degenerate

Take Notes-

Of the dates, the participants, witnesses and the reasons for every harassment incidents, offensive comments, unreasonable outbreaks and any other loads of crap that your boss lays upon you. Keep this in a safe place- just in case.

Be Prepared-

If your boss is a total mess, it will never hurt to have an updated resume, a couple of references, and a few leads to other jobs. Just so you have a contingency when things implode at the office because of your superior.

Keep these things in mind and I hope these tips can make your life with your Boss a tad bit easier.

Are you an Irate Agent?

2009-03-26T01:45:00.001-07:00

Although stress is and always will be a part of call center life, some people take it to a whole new level. They are called irate agents- and they angrier than the irate customers that they support.

With the boom of the BPO industry they are now in work stations everywhere. They are stressed out, unmotivated and drained. They are seething, gritting their teeth and they’re about to snap any moment now.

Question is, are you one of them? This career quiz will help you judge whether you have joined their ranks.

1. A particularly inconsiderate customer is on the other line, you press the mute button. What’s most likely the first word out of your mouth?

A. Nothing, just take a deep sigh.
B. Mutter “damn it from under your breath.
C. Shout “P*t***na tong customer na to. Babagsakan ko na to!”

2. Your alarm clock sounds and it’s the first day of the work week. What’s most likely the first thought in your head?

A. Finally
B. Here we go again…
C. Ugh!!!

3. Where do you see yourself in 2 years?

A. Hopefully still in this company but in a higher post.
B. I don’t know, I don’t think about it much.
C. Anywhere but here.

4. When was the last time you updated your resume’?

A. Last week when I applied for a TL post.
B. When I applied for my current job.
C. I’ve been rewriting and updating it everyday for the past 3 months.

5. You look forward to helping your customers.

A. Yes
B. Hmm, sometimes.
C. Don’t utter such nonsense!

6. A college classmate asks you what you do for a living, what’s your most likely reply?

A. I proudly exclaim that I work in a Call Center
B. “Ano pa nga ba e di sa Call Center, ikaw?”
C. I change the subject immediately.

7. What is the highlight of your workday?

A. A heartfelt thanks from a customer.
B. When my crush on the floor smiles at me.
C. Two words- Log out.

8. How many times do you curse during the workday?

A. Never
B. Only when agitated.
C. What the fuck are these questions for?

9. What’s the most likely reason for you to go on a sick leave?

A. Flu
B. Migraine
C. Hypertension

10. Which among these movies have you related to the most?

A. The Pursuit of Hapyness
B. A Very Special Love
C. Wanted

Results:

If you answered mostly A

You’re probably full of crap.

Kidding aside, WOW! How do you do it? You work hard and keep your calm when the going gets though. You have a career plan and you know how to follow through. You genuinely enjoy your job and you feel rewarded by helping other people. You don’t let irate customers ruin your day and you are definitely not an irate agent.

You deserve a plaque, or at least a pat in the back for keeping your cool even when you have a stressful job.

If you answered mostly B

Congratulations you are not an irate agent- yet.

Stress is catching up with you. You are still enjoying your career but you are definitely feeling the pressure from work. Little by little you’re stepping over to the darkside.

You probably need a break to recharge. Take a “me time” everyday to relieve tension. Have fun in your workplace, hold little events with your co-agents to break the monotony.

It’s up to you to take precautions before everything’s too late.

If you answered mostly C

Yup, it’s positive, you are an irate agent.

Now what do you do? If you keep this up you’ll probably be out of a job by the end of the year. You definitely need to act and figure your issues out before this happens.

Take a break to assess you career. Think about what you want off your job and of ways to get to it. Talk to your team lead or coworkers, they may be able to suggest other ways to break out of this as they’ve probably been there themselves.

-TWR-

Ayoko nang mag call-center!

2009-03-25T01:27:00.000-07:00

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.”