Call centres get parents back to work

Call centres worldwide are a growing phenomena, attracting a predominantly female workforce, says Vivienne Hunt, a lecturer in management and employment relations at the University of Auckland.

"Why women are attracted to this industry sector is relatively unknown, especially given the negative research on these new workplaces which suggests they are not ideal," says Hunt.

"Most of the research on call centres finds them a stressful form of employment with workers operating under tightly controlled regimes while delivering customer service via the telephone, often on a 24-hour basis."

She says a consequence of this is that many call centres have high staff turnover and limited career paths. Research in New Zealand call centres, however, suggests a different story is emerging.

Her paper, Call Centre Employment: Helping to Juggle Work Life Balance? presents findings from four case studies that investigate the experience of women working in the call centre industry in New Zealand.

It finds that many women are benefiting from the call centre work experience by being able to balance their work and life commitments. Partly in response to a skills and labour shortage, she says New Zealand call centre employers are adopting family friendly practices to attract and retain their predominantly female workforce.

Such practices include flexible work patterns, childcare subsidies and accommodating the needs of mothers returning to work. In the process, call centres are helping their female staff achieve a work-life balance and more importantly many are encouraging women to find opportunities to develop new career paths. Hunt says research on working hours in New Zealand shows that on average, New Zealanders work longer hours than in most other OECD countries.

"It appears this is driven by factors other than economic necessity," says Hunt.

"In the current New Zealand economy where unemployment levels are among the lowest in the OECD, the Government and employers have had to innovate to attract and retain employees.

"One way they are doing this is helping employees manage the juggle of work, family and other life needs. Limited to case studies of best practice call centres, her paper suggests that traditional industries could learn from the practices being used by contemporary call centres which are finding practical ways to assist employees juggle work and family.