Your call centre job involves many of the same health and safety hazards found in any modern office, especially the risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI) from working with a computer, mouse and keyboard.
But the combination of keyboard/desk/mouse/screen/headset/voice used together, often under pressure, can also cause ill health. The safety risks from this combination of stresses is not well understood.
Research by the Health and Safety Executive found significantly higher stress levels in frontline call handlers than in benchmark groups in other occupations. The lack of control staff have over the fast pace and flow of work contributes a great deal to work-related stress and dissatisfaction. HSE guidance also points to inappropriate monitoring as a source of stress.
The Unite union's guide Health and safety in call centres says that call centre staff turnover is estimated at between 20% and 80% a year, and that a large part of this "burn out" results from stress. It identifies some of the possible causes as:
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