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Working Conditions in a Selected Sample of Call Centre Companies in Sweden

Norman K., Tornqvist E. W., Toomingas A.

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

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2008

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Vol. 14, No. 2

177--194

EN

Background. Call centres (CCs) are among the most rapidly growing forms of workplaces in Sweden. The purpose of the study was to describe and compare working conditions between operators at internal and external CC companies and work tasks of different complexity. Method. A questionnaire was answered by 1 183 operators, 848 women and 335 men, from 28 different CCs. The questionnaire covered background factors, employment, working hours and remuneration, call logging and monitoring, duties, computer work and workplace design during the previous month. Results. Operators at external companies and operators with low-complexity work tasks were younger, more often employed by the hour and worked on a varying roster. They spent longer time on customer calls and had less varied tasks. Additional remuneration, call logging and monitoring were more common at external companies and among operators with low-complexity work tasks. Conclusion. The working conditions varied between internal and external CCs. There was also a variation in working conditions between work tasks of different complexity. There were aspects of supervision style and organization of work at CCs, especially at external ones and those with low-complexity tasks that could introduce stress and lack of well being among the staff.

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Reliability of a Questionnaire and an Ergonomic Checklist for Assessing Working Conditions and Health at Call Centres

Norman K., Alm H., Tornqvist E. W., Toomingas A.

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

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2006

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Vol. 12, No. 1

53--68

EN

Background. The purpose was to study the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of questions in a questionnaire concerning working conditions and health and the inter-rater reliability of observations and measurements according to an ergonomic checklist. Method. Fifty-seven operators participated in a retest questionnaire and 58 operators participated in an inter-observer test. Results. The questions had fair to good or higher reliability in 142 of the total of 312. Twenty-seven of the total of 44 variables in the ergonomic checklist were classified as having fair to good or higher reliability. Conclusions. About half of the questions had fair to good or higher reliability and can be recommended for further analyses. The majority of variables in the ergonomic checklist were classified as having fair to good or higher reliability. Low reliability does not necessarily indicate that the reliability of the test, per se, is low but may signify that the conditions measured vary over time or that the answers are aggregated in one part of the scale.

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CCall-Healthy and Successful Work in Call Centres

Benninghoven A., Bindzius F., Braun D., Cramer J., Ellegast R., Flowerday U., Genz A., Heyden T., Pfeiffer W., Schittly D., Schweer R., Stamm R.

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

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2005

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Vol. 11, No. 4

409--421

EN

Call centre workplaces are in many ways a challenge to occupational health and safety. The occupation itself can be described as an information technology-supported, communication-intensive form of work with often unusual working hours and a high rate of part-time employment. Data on the employee turnover as well as absenteeism related to occupational disability is quite contradictory. Occupational safety and its proponents still have to find new ways into the corporate structures and cultures of this relatively new and rapidly growing branch of industry. In a 2-year research and development project, using a holistic approach and under consideration of all the relevant disciplines, call centre workplaces were studied, and organisational measures were developed and field tested by putting them into practice. Practical help was developed for a sustainable strategy for successful and healthy work in call centres.

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Symptoms and Clinical Findings From the Musculoskeletal System Among Operators at a Call Centre in Sweden-A 10-Month Follow-Up Study

Toomingas A., Nilsson T., Hagberg M., Hagman M., Tornqvist E. W.

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics

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2003

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Vol. 9, No. 4

405--418

EN

The musculoskeletal health among 57 operators at 1 call centre in Sweden was studied with 10 monthly follow-ups, parallel to a reference group of 1,226 professional computer users in other occupations. Operators at this call centre were more symptom-loaded than the other professional computer users in spite of their younger age and shorter exposure to computer work. Symptoms were long-lasting or recurrent. Muscle tenderness and nerve affections in the neck-shoulder region were the most common specific findings and diagnoses at medical examination of incident symptom cases. More extensive studies should be done on the working conditions and health status among call centre workers.