Job control, stress and performance-based pay within the call centre industry

The application of performance-based pay system among enterprises is becoming more frequent. Performance-based pay systems is used by organizations in hope of increasing productivity and have become more flexible. Employees may perceive the performance-based salary as a motivator or a threat depending on lifesituation and personality. At a perceived threat, the employee may become stressed. Work-related stress has become a serious social problem that can have consequences for both companies and individuals. There is a lot of research about stress and performance-based pay, but in relation to each other the research is limited. An independent variable that can alleviate the stress of those employed in a performance based pay system is job control. The main purpose of this study is therefore to investigate how the degree of job control in call centers with performance-based pay does affect stress among employees. The reason why the call center industry was chosen is because it is a growing business area where the application of performance-based pay is frequent. In the theoretical part of the paper is the different variables from the main purpose described from previous research and theories, as well as the study's limitations. To answer the purpose a qualitative method was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees from the call centre industry. The results were presented in various relevant themes for the convenience of the reader. The study's results showed that employees in the call center industry experienced stress by the following factors: wage form, supervision, working hours and method. A high level of job control over the stressors shown to alleviate stress among the respondents. In the discussion the result was analyzed and linked to previous research and theories. In the conclusion the result and the study's credibility was summarized