Insulting calls from Britons make them sick “All’s not well at call centres in India”
posted by Christopher in Outsourcing | 
I have recently come across the following news:
British callers may be infuriated when they discover that the company they are telephoning has moved its customer service centre to India. But their frustration is nothing compared with the heart attacks, ulcers and isomnia afflicting those on the other end of line.
Research carried out by India’s booming call centre industry has found that the 1.6 million people who work in them, mostly in their twenties, are plagued b ailments arising from the stress of dealing with irate customers.
The Indian government is so concerned about the problem that it is preparing to launch a health strategy for the workers.
A study conducted by Strathclyde University for the union of IT enabled services, which informally represents call centre workers, found that 77% felt “very” pressurized and 45% identified difficult customers as the main source of their stress.
The salaries paid by the call centre industry have transformed the lives of a generation of young, middle-class Indians, giving them independence and money to spend on shopping, eating out holidays and parties, but the price is proving high.
“Youngsters love spending the kind of money their parents only dreamy about, but I’m worried that stress and illness will turn them into zombies,” said Karthik Shekhar, the union’s general secretary.
The report, to be published later this month, supports the findings of a health survey by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, which found that the outsourcing industry was most a risk from diseases that would hit productivity.
Researchers estimated that heart disease, strokes and diabetes would cost India more than £100bil (RM648.6bil) in lost productivity over the next 10 years.
Staffs in call centers dealing with customers in Britain say they have been shocked at the ferocity of the verbal attacks they encounter.
Nidhi Aggarwal, 24, said she had ever heard some of the insulting language used including the work “Paki” as a term of abuse before she began taking orders for a British catalogue company, which routes its customer’ calls to Bangalore call centre.
“At first, I thought I’d get used to it, but it’s been a year now and it‘s not getting easier. On its own, maybe I could cope with the abuse, but there’s also the stress of finishing calls in one minute and hardly having time for breaks,” she said.
Aggarwal, an English graduate, said she planned to quit the industry, tried of wishing customers a good morning only to hear: “oh, I’m through to India am I? Put me through to someone who can understand English, you cow.”
Some companies offer counseling to employees to help them overcome psychological problems.
Archana Bishta, who runs the 1to1help.net advice service in Bangalore, said she had helped workers who were suicidal or having a nervous breakdown.
Worried call centre managers have also provided cafes, sports facilities and gyms for their staff and offer neck massages disco nights and picnics in attempt to ease the pressure-cooker atmosphere.
