Coping Strategies in Call Centres: Work Intensity and the Role of Co‐workers and Supervisors

Stephen J. Deery, Roderick D. Iverson and Janet T. Walsh

British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2010, vol. 48, issue 1, 181-200

Abstract: It has been observed that customer service workers often develop mutually supportive coping strategies to protect themselves from the emotional strain of overwork. These strategies can receive tacit support from supervisors, who may accept them as a means of getting the work done. The study explores the impact of a number of different forms of support on emotional exhaustion among a group of 480 call centre workers focusing, in particular, on the role of supportive behaviours relating to absence taking. The research shows that a supportive co‐worker absence culture and team leader absence permissiveness can lessen the effects of job demands on emotional exhaustion and improve worker well‐being. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Date: 2010
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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2009.00755.x

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:48:y:2010:i:1:p:181-200

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