Dehumanization in the BPO Industry.

[LytSlpr]

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Dehumanization in the BPO Industry.
by Victor Amogues
Sun Star Daily Cebu, Citizen Journalist

Next to overseas employment, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms are seen as a better alternative for jobseekers eager to earn a living beyond subsistence wages. These firms that include call centers and content solutions providers are often praised for their role in alleviating massive unemployment in our country.

Yet, we all seem to filter-out the bad things from the good ones. Take for instance the dehumanizing graveyard shifts, modifiable hours of duty and compulsory overtime that are so commonplace within every BPO facility. While there are others who could swallow this hook, line and sinker, the majority are just forced to obviate their own personal schedules otherwise they will risk losing their jobs. And this is just a tip of the iceberg.

As with most businesses, BPO firms are hell-bent in cost-cutting as can be proven by their preference to make do with warehouses or commercial complexes for their offices and production facilities. Furthermore, outsourcing business is volatile in nature and is currently facing outbursts of indignation from the American people for sending out the labor that is due them.

Hence, every now and then, we can hear call centers laying-off their agents sooner than the 6 month contract and then later hires another batches, only to be placed again in the reserve list. Now we know where a call center agent spends his “attractive� compensation package and other perks—to his living expenditures during jobless days!

In the BPO industry, careers are as ephemeral as the firm’s occupation in the commercial complex. Worse still, employees are being treated as nothing but costs to be cut. The employees’ plight in a content solutions provider in Mandaue City may serve to illustrate.

This company is notorious for placing its employees on forced leave whenever it runs out of clients. Essentially, it is to spare the management from further incurring labor cost to unproductive time, but ostensibly, as the employees themselves allege, it is being used as scheme to squeeze-out more profits out of them. Consequently, it pushes them over to work 16 hours or succumbed to the company’s other blood-sucking schemes for fear of being placed on forced leave. The company stood to gain both ways.

We must be thankful that these BPO firms are here to employ our unemployed countrymen, but that should not mean we are allowing them to reduce human beings as mere appendage to machines. The challenge is to have stricter government regulations vis-Ã*-vis the industry and socially equitable labor policy that empowers the employees and protects their ranks from the dehumanizing trend in the BPO industry.


As I've said before, just like in any other factory, people are just mere commodity in this type of industry. BTW, not only one BPO company is doing this but almost all. My friends and other sources said that Sykes, E-Tel and even Convergys daw has already laid off some people and there was a rumor that a batch or 2 of PeopleSupport's travel account was also laid off.

[jumps_zilla]

that's a nice article. very eye-opening.

[LytSlpr]

an addendum from the author of this article...

Victor Amogues on Mar 28th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
from SunStar Daily Cebu Citizen Journalists


I think the BPO workers themselves also are to blame partly for their miserable plight. Despite of their good education, they’re still acting like stooges so vulnerable to the whims and blood-sucking schemes of their employers.

As we are already aware, these BPO companies are merely relying for “projects� from clients which are not really that huge to match the total workforce and guarantee steady employment. Some companies even have an existence coterminous to the project they are engaging.

So what comes next after the project is done or canceled half-way? The workers will be laid off or be placed on forced leave. Yet, they do not even have the nerve to protest. They just let their hungry stomach wait while their headsets and computers are enjoying total relaxation in the warehouse.

BPO workers are, therefore, seasonal workers just like sugar cane farmers or construction workers. But they are only second-rate in the sense that they’re a little less inclined to form unions or take mass actions compared to their more traditional counterparts.

If call center agents will only use their articulateness to propagate ideas that will serve their welfare; if xml formatters, indexers and transcriptionists will only make use of their skills and autonomy to form cyber armies for a change, there will be no more slaves in the hi-tech environment. There will be no more beggars to profit-hungry BPO operatives.

[north_star]

I think the BPO workers themselves also are to blame partly for their miserable plight. Despite of their good education, they’re still acting like stooges so vulnerable to the whims and blood-sucking schemes of their employers.

ouch, how can this writer say that? did he even work for a callcenter? ...miserable plight? i find that offending. well, maybe experiencing all the inequalities and injustices in the BPO industry is miserable but being a bum is more miserable. i beg to differ. i am not one of those he calls acting like stooges.

If call center agents will only use their articulateness to propagate ideas that will serve their welfare; if xml formatters, indexers and transcriptionists will only make use of their skills and autonomy to form cyber armies for a change, there will be no more slaves in the hi-tech environment. There will be no more beggars to profit-hungry BPO operatives.

why don't he try working for a callcenter and put his words into action. let's see.

[LytSlpr]

@north_star:Â* i have to agree with what the author said.Â* probably you haven't felt or experience it yet. people in the callcenter that i used to work for are complaining but are not doing anything to alleviate their situation.Â* kutob ra sila sige sa reklamo pero walay buhat.Â* it's so frustrating and personally i find them miserable because up to now they are still working there.Â* good for people who has not yet realized or experience this but most are simply passive and don't care anymore as long as they are paid.

as for the second statement that you quoted on the author, it is true, with the IQ, talents and abilities that callcenter agents possess, they can even be entrepreneurs or put up theirÂ* own call centers even with no or minimal capital.Â* you can start your own call center, medical transcription, data archiving, legal transcription, abstracting, indexing & data formatting, document processing, etc. from your own room with minimal or sometimes NO CAPITAL.Â* just like what happened to programmers in the U.S., Canada, Malaysia, India, Singapore, etc. programmers refused to work for big software companies and started their own little software outfits.Â* good examples are Microsoft, Apple, Hayes, Dell, EarthLink, Quicken, Everest and a lot, lot more.Â* In the BPO industry there is PeopleSupport, Innodata, etc. PS and Innodata started with just a size of an internet cafe in the early 90's but look at PS and Innodata now. This is the beauty of the internet and technology but unfortunately most of our netizens are not utilizing its full potential or harnessing its power.Â* As long as you have the brains and talent you can make something of yourself from anywhere in the world.Â* IF I WERE YOU, I WILL ALSO JOIN THIS BANDWAGON SO THAT YOU CAN ALSO CASH IN LATER ON.Â* Even if you just enjoy a morsel of this industry, in your own scale you will tend to earn much, much bigger than the salary that you enjoy from being employed in one.Â* But pinoys, as usual are scared and has the tendency to be dependent.Â* let us remember that for ALL the BPO needs of the U.S. Canada & Europe, even if we make the entire Philippines a BPO center, we cannot satisfy their needs or saturate the market.Â* which is by the way, all the more reason for BPO employees not to be scared to demand from these BPO companies because shipping out of the Philippines IS NOT AS EASY as what they say it would be.Â* Since they know that WE NEED their money they always bluff us and we always continue to CALL their BLUFF.

I understand that it sounded offending but from a callcenter agent turned entrepreneur's point of view, I have to say that what he said is TRUE.Â* That is why up to this very day we are international economic beggars as well as sweatshops.Â* Quite hurting but really true.Â* That's how it always is...Â*

[godCode]

sus they're just looking for a way na pa sudlan na ug KMU or some labor union nang mga call center. bantay bantay lang mo kay mo samot na kamaot ang inyong madawat na benefits diha if that happens. and besides, naa man gihapon mangapply na call center agents diha maski bati ang mga benefits. dili lalim mangita trabaho karon uy and even if they do find a "stable" job, gamay ra gyud ang sweldo.

dili raman pud ang mga BPO companies ang guilty anang mang "football" lang ug kalit ug employees...

kung naa palang alternative na ma trabahoan ang mga taw na pareho ug benefits na gihatag anang mga call centers, gamay nalang man ta gyud mo trabaho diha, but sad to say its beyond the reach to a lot of us...

and btw, daghan kaayo ko mga amigo na ga trabaho ug call center, pero wala man lagi koy nadungan na naay gipang taktak ug kalit sa ila...

[LytSlpr]

and btw, daghan kaayo ko mga amigo na ga trabaho ug call center, pero wala man lagi koy nadungan na naay gipang taktak ug kalit sa ila...

i think you need to talke to MORE people. i refuse to give specific details here because it might raise some eyebrows and this will become a flaming thread again.

[north_star]

I understand that it sounded offending but from a callcenter agent turned entrepreneur's point of view, I have to say that what he said is TRUE. That is why up to this very day we are international economic beggars as well as sweatshops. Quite hurting but really true. That's how it always is...

well good for you but not all people can be like you. you can't expect thousands of filipinos working for callcenters at the moment to take your route. what about those people who relocated from other cities just to work for a callcenter in cebu or manila, perhaps. they can't be entrepreneurs even if they wanted to. most of them have to pay their monthly rent and some of them even send most of their earnings to their families back in their hometowns.

it is not as easy as you think it is. you can call these people miserable but you cannot insult them by saying they're not doing something to get out of their miserable situation because most of these people do not have the options, or they may have the options but they are restricted to take those options because of their current situation. besides, some of these people do not look at their situations as miserable, regardless if they have or have not experienced the injustices, dirty politics, exploitation and other issues that may or may not happen to most callcenters.

i know some people who tried putting up their own callcenter but the problem lies in acquiring a client, a client that is stable and a client that would hire more people to do the job. most, if not often, small time callcenters would really have to put a lot of effort in building a client's trust since they don't have a reputation yet. attracting people to work for the center is also another challenge. i'm not saying these things cannot be achieved but i'm just trying to say that they involve sweat. someone who's looking for a better pay would rather opt or look forward to work for something bigger and with more benefits/perks/spiffs/incentives rather than work for small time contact centers.

the way the author wrote his article was a bit insulting. the callcenter job is a dignified job. it requires certain skills, qualifications, talent and flair. the author writes as if the industry makes a demoralizing scar in the country. it actually depends on how you look at it. while it may true that the callcenter job is not something that most callcenter agents (or people who have not worked for a callcenter at all who think they know a lot) would look up as a long-term thing, it is also true that the current influx of multinational companies conducting their contact center operations in the country provide jobs to those people who otherwise may not have a source of income.

i do not discount the fact that you have a good point. not all people can stay longer in callcenters. i've read somewhere that the average tenure of americans in callcenter jobs is 8-9 months while the average for filipinos is 1-2 years. i'm talking about the "staying power" of plain agents/customer service reps/sales reps/tech service reps/ customer support reps (whatever they are called). those who most likely stay or last long are those holding higher positions with higher pay (supervisors, operations managers, team leads, etc.).

anyway, i think that's enough of my babble.

[LytSlpr]

I understand that it sounded offending but from a callcenter agent turned entrepreneur's point of view, I have to say that what he said is TRUE. That is why up to this very day we are international economic beggars as well as sweatshops. Quite hurting but really true. That's how it always is...

well good for you but not all people can be like you. you can't expect thousands of filipinos working for callcenters at the moment to take your route. what about those people who relocated from other cities just to work for a callcenter in cebu or manila, perhaps. they can't be entrepreneurs even if they wanted to. most of them have to pay their monthly rent and some of them even send most of their earnings to their families back in their hometowns.

it is not as easy as you think it is. you can call these people miserable but you cannot insult them by saying they're not doing something to get out of their miserable situation because most of these people do not have the options, or they may have the options but they are restricted to take those options because of their current situation. besides, some of these people do not look at their situations as miserable, regardless if they have or have not experienced the injustices, dirty politics, exploitation and other issues that may or may not happen to most callcenters.

i know some people who tried putting up their own callcenter but the problem lies in acquiring a client, a client that is stable and a client that would hire more people to do the job. most, if not often, small time callcenters would really have to put a lot of effort in building a client's trust since they don't have a reputation yet. attracting people to work for the center is also another challenge. i'm not saying these things cannot be achieved but i'm just trying to say that they involve sweat. someone who's looking for a better pay would rather opt or look forward to work for something bigger and with more benefits/perks/spiffs/incentives rather than work for small time contact centers.

the way the author wrote his article was a bit insulting. the callcenter job is a dignified job. it requires certain skills, qualifications, talent and flair. the author writes as if the industry makes a demoralizing scar in the country. it actually depends on how you look at it. while it may true that the callcenter job is not something that most callcenter agents (or people who have not worked for a callcenter at all who think they know a lot) would look up as a long-term thing, it is also true that the current influx of multinational companies conducting their contact center operations in the country provide jobs to those people who otherwise may not have a source of income.

i do not discount the fact that you have a good point. not all people can stay longer in callcenters. i've read somewhere that the average tenure of americans in callcenter jobs is 8-9 months while the average for filipinos is 1-2 years. i'm talking about the "staying power" of plain agents/customer service reps/sales reps/tech service reps/ customer support reps (whatever they are called). those who most likely stay or last long are those holding higher positions with higher pay (supervisors, operations managers, team leads, etc.).

anyway, i think that's enough of my babble.

you have a good point. can now see your perspective. i have to say the author's statements was a bit too sweeping but we also cannot discount the fact that he also has a good point and what he said was quite true.

corky, sweeping but true.

[brian_d]

I do agree with you LytSlpr entrepreneurship is the way to go, however not everyone can be as lucky as you to have "family" money to start thier own internet cafes, construct building for dormitories (as per your post in another thread) so thier start into venturing into a business may not have such a grand and stellar start as you did. Some people are also very risk averse and would rather be employed, get a steady job even if that means fixed monthly income with not much room to grow.

However for those who are willing to take the risk, entrepreneurship has its rewards way beyond that of being employed.