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`A Unique Working Environment': Health, Sickness and Absence Management in UK Call Centres

University of Stirling, UK, philip.taylor{at}stir.ac.uk

Chris Baldry

University of Stirling, UK, c.j.baldry{at}stir.ac.uk

Peter Bain

University of Strathclyde, UK, peter.m.bain{at}strath.ac.uk

Vaughan Ellis

University of Stirling, UK

This article fills an important gap in our knowledge of call centres by focusing specifically on occupational ill-health. We document the recent emergence of health and safety concerns, assess the responses of employers and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), critique the existing regulatory framework and present a holistic diagnostic model of occupationally induced ill-health. This model is utilized to investigate quantitative and qualitative data from a case study in the privatized utility sector, where the relative contributions to employee sickness and ill-health from factors relating to ergonomics, the built environment and work organization are evaluated. The principal conclusions are that the distinctive character of call-handling is the major cause of occupational ill-health and that effective remedial action would involve radical job re-design. Finally, the limitations of recent HSE guidance are exposed and industrial relations processes and outcomes analysed.

Key Words: call centres • health and safety • sickness absence • trade unions • work organization

Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 17, No. 3, 435-458 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/09500170030173002


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