Working conditions and health at call centres in Sweden

SND-ID: snd0838-1. Version: 1.0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/bfc7-fc66

Citation

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Allan Toomingas - National Institute for Working Life, Work and Health

Kerstin Norman - National Institute for Working Life, Work and Health

Ewa Wigaeus Tornqvist - National Institute for Working Life, Work and Health

Research principal

Arbetslivsinstitutet - Work and Health

Description

There are a range of problems associated with job on call centres. A range of problems associated with the job have become apparent, with time pressure, performance monitoring via computer, monitoring of phone calls, ergonomic deficiencies and musculoskeletal problems amongst the problems reported. An earlier study of a call centre in Sweden found inadequate working conditions and signs of ill health amongst a high percentage of the population in their 20s who had only been working for 2-3 years. The situation was worse there than amongst older employees in other industries with computer-intensive jobs.
Inadequate working conditions and the high incidence of medical complaints amongst young employees may mean that call centres are failing to provide the sustainable work opportunities that many are counting on, e.g. in rural areas. Scientific studies of call centres are few and the state of knowledge of working conditions and health there is deficient.
A cross-sectional study into working and health conditions at call centres in Sweden was conducted with the aim of contributing to a sustainab

... Show more..
There are a range of problems associated with job on call centres. A range of problems associated with the job have become apparent, with time pressure, performance monitoring via computer, monitoring of phone calls, ergonomic deficiencies and musculoskeletal problems amongst the problems reported. An earlier study of a call centre in Sweden found inadequate working conditions and signs of ill health amongst a high percentage of the population in their 20s who had only been working for 2-3 years. The situation was worse there than amongst older employees in other industries with computer-intensive jobs.
Inadequate working conditions and the high incidence of medical complaints amongst young employees may mean that call centres are failing to provide the sustainable work opportunities that many are counting on, e.g. in rural areas. Scientific studies of call centres are few and the state of knowledge of working conditions and health there is deficient.
A cross-sectional study into working and health conditions at call centres in Sweden was conducted with the aim of contributing to a sustainable development of call centre work. The project was conducted in partnership with the Ergonomics Programme at the National Institute for Working Life, Occupational Medicine North, Sundsvall Hospital, and the Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health at the Karolinska Institute.
Data were collated at social, corporate and individual level from 15-20 larger call centres with different operating spheres, ownership structures and geographical location. Data were collected on work organisation, content and times, physical and psychosocial working conditions, and health and well-being with the aid of questionnaires, observations, measurements, medical examinations and company registers (including the computerised monitoring system). A total of approximately 1,500 people were included in the study. Models were tried out in order to evaluate the effects of ill health and inadequacies in working conditions at the company's expense. Show less..

Data contains personal data

No

Language

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis

Sampling procedure

A total of 38 call- centres with at least 50 employed was invited to participate in the study. The company were selected to represent both internal and external call centres. 16 companies represented 28 different workplaces, 16 internal and 12 external agreed to take part in the study.

Time period(s) investigated

2001 – 2003

Number of individuals/objects

1531

Response rate/participation rate

77%

Data format / data structure

Data collection
Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Sweden

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit

Work and Health

Funding

  • Funding agency: Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
Topic and keywords

Research area

Working conditions (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Medical and health sciences (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Occupational health and environmental health (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Health (CESSDA Topic Classification)

General health and well-being (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Publications

Sort by name | Sort by year

Norman K, Wigaeus Tornqvist E, Toomingas A. Working conditions in a selected sample of call centre companies in Sweden. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics.2008;14:2,177-94
Till lärosätets (oru) databas | Till lärosätets (kth) databas

Norman K, Floderus B, Hagman M, Toomingas A. Musculoskeletal symptoms in relation to work exposures at call centre companies in Sweden. Work.2008;30(2):201-14

If you have published anything based on these data, please notify us with a reference to your publication(s). If you are responsible for the catalogue entry, you can update the metadata/data description in DORIS.

Published: 2006-01-01
Last updated: 2020-01-22