Abstract
Purpose
The present study sought to assess the impact of telephone call center employees’ working conditions on health by identifying at-risk employment situations.
Methods
A transversal study was performed in companies followed by 47 occupational physicians taking part (working conditions have been previously described). A self-administered medical questionnaire was used to collect data on absence due to sick leave, hearing and visual problems, musculoskeletal disorders, psychotropic drug use, etc. An analog-scale self-assessment of health status and a general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used. Personal or familial events that might underlie health problems and affect GHQ-12 results were quantified and taken into account in a logistic regression.
Results
A total of 2,130 call-handlers were included. Workers who had availed sick leave during the previous 12 months were 60%. The most frequent musculoskeletal complaints over the previous 12-month period concerned the cervical region (59%). During the same period, 77.3% of subjects experienced visual fatigue, 50% reported auditory fatigue signs and 47% vocal disturbance or fatigue. According to the Likert scale, 39.4% of workers had showed psychological distress. Almost 24% of the workers had used psychoactive medication during the previous 12 months. A significant association was found between psychological distress and the frequency of musculoskeletal disorders. Psychological distress and musculoskeletal disorders were significantly greater in workers with Job Strain and Iso Strain.
After taking non-occupational factors into account, some occupational factors were found to increase the risk of psychological distress (Likert >12): imposed full-time schedule, being unable to simultaneously meet both quality and quantity requirements, situations of tension with clients, negative comments from superiors, and lack of recognition from superiors.
Conclusions
This survey of over 2,000 call center employees highlighted the high frequency of psychological distress in this population and the health impact of working conditions.
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Acknowledgments
The study received funding from AFSSET, the French Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety. The authors thank all of the occupational physicians who agreed to perform this study with them: Physicians from AGEMETRA: Doctors Arbez, Chemin, Collat, Finet, Guyot, Hahn, Koang, Lambert, Lemoine, Martelain, Morard, Pallu, Raoux, Trescol, Troupel and Zerzaihi; Physicians from AST: Doctors Bourgea, Bruneau, Cuney, Delon, Depraz, Ducrot, Gillard, Goudard, Guérin.C, Henry, Legrand, Martin, Neddam, Palustran, Saint-Jean, Scapatticci, Teissier, Tauleigne and Valat; Other medical services: Doctors Deveaux (CIMT Thizy), Dupasquier (CAF de Lyon), Jourdain and Luzy (Renault-Trucks, Vénissieux) and Marin-Laflèche (APAS, MT BTP, Villeurbanne). We also thank the occupational health department managers who contributed to the success of the project.
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Approval by the French Ministry of Research (Comité consultatif pour le traitement de l’information en matière de recherche dans le domaine de la santé) and the French data protection authority (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés) was obtained before starting the study.
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Charbotel, B., Croidieu, S., Vohito, M. et al. Working conditions in call-centers, the impact on employee health: a transversal study. Part II. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 82, 747–756 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-008-0351-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-008-0351-z