a must read for every call center agent -- please take care of your health...

[ice_05]

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As a CALL CENTER AGENT here are my answers to the problems mentioned in this thread.

* Stress problems.= maski unsa imong work naa jud ning Stress. Naa ra na sa taw unsa.on nya pag pa wala sa iyang stress.

* It causes boredom and lack of interest. ( death knoll of the brain – it reduces brain power) = I don't think this is true. Even if are doing the same things every day I don't think it stops our brain from functioning. And we DO HAVE a chance to go out and get fresh air, read newspapers, surf the internet, and take some snacks because we have what we call "BREAKS". Naa gani ko sa office karon nag answer ani nga thread.

* Very potent source of anxiety =
* Females suffer from Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) = For some it think yes. Kay lagi dugay maka Ihi kay naa pay call and then again kund d na jud kaya pwede man nimo i put on hold kadali ang customer and dagan dayon para mangihi.But I think this is not the only source for UTI. Naa pa lain factors para maka UTI ang usa ka taw.

* More exposure to unhealthy foods and lifestyle = Part of it is True but then again all of us no matter what jobs we have are exposed to unhealthy foods.Kinsa gud tawn di ganahan mo kaon sa KFC, Jollibee, McDonalds ug uban pa.

* Body clock is disrupted = True. But I think it's not only Call Center Agents whose body clock are discrupted. How about the Nurses,Security Guards, Police,Factory Workers , Encoders they too are working in shifting schedules. Nganong Initan man jud ang call center agents bah.

* Less socialization leads to emotional problems = Not true. We are socializing everyday. Company's even give their employees budget to have a team socialization so that their agents can relax and unwind.

* Exhaustive workload creates lifetime health vulnerabilities.= I don't think call centers ra ang naa ani nga problema.

* Exposure to health hazards. = There are a lot of jobs that more hazardous than Call Centers.How about the companies that dealt with plastics and chemicals diba mas harmful na sa health ilang trabaho? I think mo occur ra ni ang health issues if abusado ta and won't take care of our health.



Nganong Call Centers man jud ang initan. Kadako ug na tabang ani sa Pilipinas.

Kani jud ning nag conduct sa research O, mo supporta jud tingali ni cya atong bill nga i pass sa isa ka senator sa U.S para sa mga BPO.

Very well said Mickachu. Bias kaau ning article kay foreigner man ang author. He shouldn't generalize all call centers with this article for an obvious reason: Not all Call Centers are the same. They cannot put into claim that this is the general scenario for call centers unless they have valid facts and figures to present. Besides puro mi gawork sa lahi2x na call center then dili man in-ani amo experiences. And we don't set aside our childhood dreams because we are working in a call center. In case you don't know, dili lang call center "agent" ang jobs na available sa mga call center. We also have HR departments, accounting department, IT, maintenance, operations department, quality assurance and any other positions imaginable of a big company. So maski accountant ka o b.s. psychology grad, pde ka ka pursue sa imo dream sa call center.

I believe all kinds of work can trigger stress regardless if it's a call center job or not. And not all call center jobs have low job discretions because we DON'T. I think it is even more stressful to work in shiftings if you are underpaid like local nurses, policemen, security guards, etc.

About sa UTI issues, ako man lagi wala kaagi ug UTI na 5 years naman ko nag call center. Taka lang ug survey kaning -- Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, a 10-minute break period is allowed for personal use like going to the restroom -- kay kasagara nako mga friends and maski ako uyab sa lahi2x na call center nag work and dili man 10 minute break ila para personal use. They even have leisure breaks para mag sigarilyo. hehehe

Nganong pasanginlan man jud ning Call Center sa exposure to unhealthy food and lifestyle. Kami ra diay nagkaon sa mga fastfood? lahi ba food sa pantry namo sa food sa canteen sa ubang offices? Kana diay nag work sa government offices, dili kusog muinom kape? Mas grabe pa man gani manigarilyo nang mga nag work sa engineering firm especially majority sa trabahante kay laki.

Sakto man sad na body clock is disrupted but kung dugay na ka night shift, dili na jud ma disrupt imo body clock kay mao na man jud siya imo sched. Besides dili lang man call center ang naa shifting like engineering firm (w/ US based clients), factory workers and nurses(which are underpaid), police, etc.

Since dagko ug sweldo ang taga call center, sila na nuon daghan social life kay maka afford man sila mulaag2x ug garbo plus naa pa jud budget na lain para team socialization/team building. Then dili na true ang gi-ingon ni Dr. Prandya Kulkarni na -- young BPO workers, who receive high salaries, do not have the maturity and emotional capability to handle their wealth -- kay sa amo call center, kasagara nakapalit na ug house, naa na car(s), entertainment showcase, travel abroad, etc.

Working in a call center doesn't have problems with medical expenses kay naa mi tanan insurance luwas tingali sa call center na wala med. insurance. Naa pa gani mi medicine subsidy. Mas exhaustive man tingali ang workload sa uban labi na mga nagwork sa factory na perteng gamaya na sa sweldo, quota2x pa jud ug kanang mga local doctors na on call pirme and haluson maka VL kay ako miga na doctor mao na ang reklamo, she even advised me to enjoy my life while i can kay siya as a doctor dili ka enjoy (irnonic, diba?).

Exposure to health hazards oh c'mon! yaw ko ingna na hazardous ang call center jobs? or this person who wrote this article tends to oversee other jobs na mas hazardous (kay bias lagi siya!) pa, as presented by Mikachu in her response to this post.

FYI: we don't have monotonous lifestyle. Uban tingali na work labi na government employees especially kanang mga tiguwang na imo kauban sa work (haha!), e.g. ako friend nag work sa bank then bored to death siya kay puros tiguwang iya kauban nya wala daw life kundi work-house routine ra jud. Then dili pod same wavelength ig storya nila during break time. And who are you to even judge us that WE do not have time to respond to social needs and concerns which can directly benefit us as a community and as a country

Think about this statement: "worse social cancer of apathy will surely pull the Philippines down as it is happening today." I think this person is missing the point that it is not call center agents who is causing the so called "social-cancer", in fact, this industry helped the Philippine economy alot. We even increased incomes to corrupt government officials, who by the way, leads social cancer of apathy.

Also, we DON'T lack education, social awareness, and public response. Taka lang ka da! Unsa tu-o nimo namo, mga bogo mi. It doesn't mean mas maau and intelehente ka namo tungod nakasuwat ka aning article and wala ka nag call center. Oh please! spare me these non-stop crap bunter to call centers if you really don't know what you're talking about. Sorry kung na-igo ang uban na mga jobs na gin set nako as example kontra call center job. Wala sad ko nag generalize, gin base ra nako sa experiences sa ako mga kaila na lahi ug field of work. And this is to straighten the fact na dili lang tungod sa call center job maka acquire ug ing-aning mga sakita.

[crisxahia]

mao lagi dayon ni.. daghana nang react oi..
article ra tawn ni, seryoso ra kaayo mo

as for me, I used to work before in a call center for 5 years
ni undang ko kay kapoy na dyud kaayo.
karon naa nlang ko sa balay ga work..

[juleskiboi]

mao lagi dayon ni.. daghana nang react oi..
article ra tawn ni, seryoso ra kaayo mo

as for me, I used to work before in a call center for 5 years
ni undang ko kay kapoy na dyud kaayo.
karon naa nlang ko sa balay ga work..

aw kanya kanya man gd ning mga reaction sis/bro...para nako, ok rman ang article, the best i can do lang is to matmangon nalang gd...live a healthy and interactive lifestyle para dili madaot...

[crisxahia]

pahabol lang..

however I do agree with the salary issue, sadly our country is the lowest among the other
call centers from other countries here in Asia. Come to think we speak better English than
this guys, and hell.. we can compete with the quality of work we can deliver.
In the end, it boils down to them (call centers) exploiting our cheap labor.

and there's the issue of stability, basta2 lang sila maka taktak ug agents bisan tenured na.
(ambot nganong dili ni sila ma control sa Labor code nato)..

ingna ko kung sayop ko.. abir?

just my 2 cents

[itzurisen]

wa man g-initan ang call center, piece of info rman ni, it's your option though to consider this or not, just stay healthy!...U peace!...U

[Subzero]

Nganong Call Centers man jud ang initan. Kadako ug na tabang ani sa Pilipinas.

Kani jud ning nag conduct sa research O, mo supporta jud tingali ni cya atong bill nga i pass sa isa ka senator sa U.S para sa mga BPO.

Lahi man tong issue ang bill and this one. The bill was opposing against call made in the U.S. to be transfer to other country while this article is base on health issue.

[disomniac]

IMHO,

this thread is just from an article i got from the net...i think in no way nga giinitan ang callcenter per se ani, but ang possible health problem/s nga makuha tungod sa unregular working shifts and based ra man pd ni sa na observe sa author...

i currently work in a callcenter and wala ko ma offend ani nga article...i would consider this article a challenge in taking care of myself MORE para dili ko magka sakit sakit...

weLL said brO i too myseLf is working in a call center.... and its realLy up to us how we take care of our heaLth it does not matter what kind of job we are in ,whether you are underemployed or employed .....

[SioDenz]

Murag wa man guro ni initi ang call center, di man sad ing ana kadaku inyu sweldo para initan mu.
Naa lay nag conduct ug study nya mao na ilahang results... murag dugang info lan bah...

Di pa nuon mu ana naay nag study sa inyu work, meaning naay nagpakabana sa inyuha...

[Mickachu]

Lahi man tong issue ang bill and this one. The bill was opposing against call made in the U.S. to be transfer to other country while this article is base on health issue.

Yeah kahibaw ko what the bill is all about. Pero lain akong gipasabot sa akong post earlier.

[Subzero]

* Stress problems. = Every job not just call center have stress problems. No. 1 cause of stress is pressured and I don't think call center job is pressured enough to have stress problem. It all depend on how you handle your job.

* It causes boredom and lack of interest. = Every company have their snack/lunch break. Infact, its only call center that have meal allowance. Mas manabok pa gani ang mo work og call center kay sige lang kaon ky gutom mo work og gabie.

* Very potent source of anxiety. = This all depend on the agents how they handle criticism, feedback, negative issue on their company.

* Females suffer from Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). = Again, this doesn't only apply to call center. When nature call mangihi man jud ngano pugngan man samot na ang babaye.

* More exposure to unhealthy foods and lifestyle. = Not all agents have unhealthy lifestyles. There are some who go to gym, eat the right food and have proper diet.

* Body clock is disrupted. = Though this may be through since lahi ra jud ang tulog sa gabie compare sa buntag pero daghan naman work karon nga pang gabie so this doesn't apply to call center only. How about nurses, policemen, security guard. As long as you have a good sleep dli labad imo ulo inig mata okey nana kaysa wla jud matulog.

* Less socialization leads to emotional problems. = Though this may be also true. Hapit na gani dli magkita sa family og friend ky work sa gabie, tulog sa buntag pero it still depend on the person. Naa man call center nga mo spent og money for the team building for their employee to socialize. Ang uban call center apilon pa gani ang family sa ila employee.

* Exhaustive workload creates lifetime health vulnerabilities. = Not all the time daghan workload pero mao bitaw all call center have medical or healthcare benefit because they know the risk. Basta completo lng og vitamins layo ka sa sakit.

* Exposure to health hazards. = Again, not only call center have health hazards and use computer. There are lots of jobs require computer especially now nga computer generation na. Encoders, transcriptionist, journalist are a few on the list who uses computer everyday for how many hours.

* Causes intellectual drain and immaturity. = Not true. Mas social pa gani ang uban agent og mas updated sa mga current issues. I don't think naay agent na bogo tungod ni work sa call center.


Why is this article only concentrate on call center job while there are lots of job now a days nga pang gabie. It all depend on the person who work at night how they will handle their lives.