An Inductive Study of the Attitudes and Perceptions of Call Centre Working.

Call centres have received much criticism and management attention, yet despite employing increasing numbers of people, high staff turnover and sickness rates have been a major features of employment. The study explores the attitudes and perceptions of staff. It originates from the author’s interests in having call centres be effective and humanitarian places to work and amplifying the voice of call centre workers. It is an exploratory, interpretive study of life in a call centre for those who work within it. It asks the overall question: “What are the attitudes and perceptions of people working in a call centre?” Thirteen participants were interviewed and observed within two research sites in the UK: a call centre serving a university and a contact centre within a telecommunications firm. Case study was used as the main research method, after Yin (1994, 2003) and Stake (1995) with a modified version of Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967) to provide in-depth analysis. Case study was selected to illuminate the research question for its ability to explain attitudes and perceptions in context from the actors’ frame of reference and utilise secondary data such as organisational documents. Grounded Theory Method’s inductive and comparative approach for inquiry and analysis was utilised to construct theory (Bryant & Charmaz, 2007: p1; Charmaz & Henwood, 2007). Perceptions and attitudes were found to vary considerably. The analysis revealed patterns of beliefs, behaviours and emotions, linked to psychosocial enablers and constraints. A theoretical model - ‘Choice and Responsibility’ was developed to conceptualise the actor’s attitudes and perceptions. The dimensions within it are bipolar and range from: inclusion to alienation; control to powerlessness; and self-actualisation to survival. The model suggests individuals had a choice in how they responded to circumstances at work; and that there were many influencers which impacted upon their choices