The 21st Century Sweat Shops
Blood Sweat and Tears
The 21st Century Sweat Shops
By definition, a sweatshop is: Any workplace where the wages are inadequate, the hours too long, and the working conditions endanger safety or health - whether or not any laws are violated.
The call center and customer service environment of today is well defined as an “Electronic Sweat Shop.” Every breath, keystroke, word, screen shot and every minute spent in the restroom is monitored by the Company. This behavior is in effort to make sure they can get every second of the day to become more productive than it was yesterday. By establishing metrics, requirements, goals, talk time, customer handling, scripting, product count (the list goes on) they have taken over the employee’s right to be human. The Company has bypassed the option for it employees to have a life. The Company has no regard for the health and well being of its employees. In the Company’s vision, STRESS has become a food group and they are more than willing to make sure it is fed to the employees on a daily basis. Absolutely no concept of a life outside of the work place. The bottom line has become the only line.
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Replies to This Post
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Permalink Reply by csearick@hotmail.com on -
The days of valued employees are over. The companies constantly complain about health care cost but continually add more duties and responsibilities on workers that add to their stress. They are not concerned about the health of their employees because they will just replace you. Workers are expected to consider work their first priority and family and health are somewhere on the bottom of the list or is no concern of the employer at all. Workers must find ways of combating stress to insure they remain healthy for their families.
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Permalink Reply by Rosie on -
As a customer service employee, we don't mind performing our work to the best of our ability, if we had the equipment to perform it on. More and more customers/employees are complaining because of the outdated equipment. The bottom line in the long run will not matter if you don't have customers to service.
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Permalink Reply by Val on
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Stress is a major factor that contributes to heart conditions, high blood pressure, ulcers, eating disorders as well as it plays a role in our mental health.
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Permalink Reply by Fiona1 on
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Micro-management is NOT working in call center settings. I completely agree with you, Csearick! The turnover rate is so high the "powers that be" need to take this into account and change it! We are the front door to the company...we make or break the views of the company! We are all adults if they would back off and let us do our jobs the place would be worlds better!
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Permalink Reply by Lois J. Grimes-Patow on
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The themes expressed here cut across every corporation. Workers everywhere can identify with the "electronic sweatshop" mentality which is permeating thoughout our society. While many of the companies state they have policies to deal with disgruntled customers when a manager is needed for such work, they are never to be found and that adds another stressor to workers.
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Permalink Reply by Val on
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Having all the tools in your bag, at all times can certainly make a difference in an employee’s ability to perform the daily job.
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Permalink Reply by Val on
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Stress is a major factor that contributes to heart conditions, high blood pressure, ulcers, eating disorders as well as it plays a role in our mental health.
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Permalink Reply by skumpf on
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Don't ask me to do something that you can't do. That is what they have to understand.
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Permalink Reply by Val on
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Agreed! With electric monitoring is has become very easy for managers to instruct workers. Some managers and coaches have never done the job themselves.
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Permalink Reply by 1stewardofmany on
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just so everyone realizes stess for customer service is nothing new, for example (those of you who are old bellheads should remember) the "little greenies", for those of you who don't, they were at the work force desk and were there to take care of whatever ailments you might have, from headache to ulcer, they were valium, acetominephine, and caffeine, (among other things ;-D ) but then again that was when the worker WAS more than just a expendable and cheaply replaceable item more akin to fine china than to a paper plate. and the company was happy to at least attempt to keep you somewhat satisifed in your job and therefore more productive,.... now it is "produce or get out, and I'll find a cheaper overseas replacement for you! No on second thought... I'll do that anyway so it's only a matter of time now.!"
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Permalink Reply by Val on
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I do remember when greenies were the answer to dealing with our health and the work place! If the option were give today, for the return of greenies or something that worked in the same manner, how would this alterative be received by the employees? Would it be a help or be a hindrance?
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Permalink Reply by Lois J. Grimes-Patow on
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To respond to you question, many of our members are on medication to assist them in performing their jobs every day. That is a sad state of affairs and unfortunately a testimony to the companies mistreatment of workers. There was a story in Mother Jones Magazine in 1980 called "Drugged, Bugged and Unplugged at the Phone Company". This article actually talked about the greenies. So the companies eliminated greenies and instead now the workers use their prescription plans to deal with the jobs. So, to the reply above the problems have been around for a long time perhaps now they are just worse because they can track every thing. Rather than companies choosing to use technology to make the job easier it has become more of a ball and chain!
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