Stress Exhaustion and Family Dynamics of Female Married Call Center Agents

A Study Presented to the Faculty Of the College of Nursing of Cebu Sacred Heart College

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Subject Nursing Research for the Degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Adobas, Loraine A. Morales, Crystal Mae S. Sabanal, Andr Gil I.

October 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE Rationale of the Study THEORETICAL BACKGROUND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE THE PROBLEM Statement of the Problem Statement of the Null Hypotheses Significance of the Study RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design Research Environment Research Respondent Research Instrument Research Procedure Treatment Data Definition of Terms CHAPTER II PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION, AND ANALYSIS OF DATA SECTION I Section 1.1 Data Results Section 1. 2 Interpretations SECTION II Data Results and Interpretations PROPOSED INTERVENTION Goal and Objectives Areas of Concern CHAPTER III Summary and Findings Conclusion Recommendations i ii 2 5 8 16 17 18 20 20 21 21 21 22 23

26 34 45 48 49 50 55 56 57

APPENDIX A Transmittal Letter Addressed to the Dean APPENDIX B Transmittal Letter Addressed to the Respondents APPENDIX C Research Tool APPENDIX D Research Time Table APPENDIX E Research Budget APPENDIX F BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX G CURRICULUM VITAE

64 65 66 70 71 72 74

i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Sincerest thanks to the following people who in one way or another became part of our endeavor: To the call center agents, who employed their time out of stress from work and for religious response to queries on the research tool provided. To our research adviser, Ms. Rizzelle C. Olila, for guiding us through in completing this research and for filling us with knowledge and support. To our families, who helped suffice the needs in light of this research and the unwavering support on all our undertakings. To the librarian, Ms. Riza C. Olila, for aiding us in collecting information to support this research. To the researchers, for the help each other has extended and for the fun while learning throughout the fulfillment of this research as part of our endeavor of becoming nurses. And above all, to our Almighty Father, for being our guiding light who invicibly leads us to ways in attaining our goals and aspirations. This, we dedicate for your glory!

THE RESEARCHERS

ii CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE RATIONALE OF THE STUDY Introduction Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger whether its real or imagined, the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the fight-or-flight reaction, or the stress response. The stress response is the bodys way of protection (www.helpguide.org). Each person handles stress differently, one person can thrive in a situation that creates great distress for another. For example, many people view public speaking as scary, but for teachers and actors, it is an everyday enjoyable experience. Marriage, children, airplanes, snakes, a new job, a new school, and leaving home are examples of stress-causing events (Shiela L. Videbeck,2001). Exhaustion, defined as extreme physical tiredness and loss of strength due to a lack of food and sleep, overwork, and stress. It causes the sufferer to be constantly tired and physically worn out. If disregarded, exhaustion can cause feelings of depression and lower the

immune system making a person defenseless against diseases and illnesses. Stress exhaustion is a combination of physical

and emotional exhaustion that is the result of prolonged high stress situations. Combined with lack of rest, exhaustion can be highly debilitating. People who suffer from this condition feel overwhelmed by the events around them. Many also experience feelings of frustration and helplessness. If not addressed, it can lead to additional health problems. Stress exhaustion also affects work performance. Making the right decision can be very difficult for an individual who is suffering from exhaustion. In the corporate world, this condition is often referred to as burnout. Some high pressure work environments do not make sufficient allowances for stress, making it difficult for workers to communicate their needs. Individuals of all ages, classes, and occupations can be affected by stress exhaustion (www.wisegeek.com). Marriage and work are so closely interdependent in the experience of the vast majority of the people. Family life and work mutually affects one another in different ways." These two realities are so connected with each other that often times, married couples have difficulties to manage which results to varied problems from children rearing to broken marriages. This is a conflict between two values that of marriage/family life and work. They have to face this reality, but not without neglecting one over the other. There is no problem with regards

to those who know how to manage such responsibility but to those who has little ability to manage marriage and work, it would be a great struggle. In the past, man takes up the responsibility of being the breadwinner of the family, but due to economic problem women of today work for economic gain to help the husband and sometimes leaving the child- rearing to nannies and house helpers or to the care of their relatives and in-laws. Sometimes, this set-up creates rage in marriages. One of the interesting jobs married individuals usually go into nowadays are call center jobs. More than a phenomenon of the present day businesses, call centers has become a refuge to those who were laidoff from their jobs. Although other work requires a graveyard shift like those breweries, distillers and hospitals who work 24/7, what makes call centers different aside from being a phenomenon, it gives their employees a considerable economic gain without being conscious of your educational attainment. Married individuals who were not able to pursue their studies can work in call centers as long as you have a good English proficiency. Call centers have existed for decades but have only really mushroomed in the last five years or so. The boom has been fuelled by advances in technology and the shift towards a 24-hour society allowing us to telephone the bank or email the insurance company at any hour of night or day. Call center agents experience high levels of stress exhaustion. Call center agents experience dissonance when they are

required to act pleasant with clients when they feel entirely otherwise. This increases anxiety, burnout, depression, and psychosomatic

complaints. Remaining cheerful may be especially challenging in the face of client aggression. Over 40% of call center workers deal with angry clients every day. Unique stressors, such as ambiguous or excessive client expectations, client verbal aggression toward the call center agents, and disliked clients predicts burnout among call center agents, independent of other variables (www.shepellfgi.com).In call centers, agents does not only waste their physical energy but also their emotional energy, the fact that most of the callers are irate or problematic and the agent have to explain or even argue with callers in a nicer way. They cannot just simply put down the phone even if the caller is shouting and in rage. In the hospital, though nurses and other personnel have night or graveyard shifts, they can have a rest after their rounds, however in call centers, call come in after calls and quotas should be met (www.gilyann-urstoff.blogspot.com). In Canada, experts estimate between 250,000 and 400,000 people now work in call centers. Many call centers are sited in giant hangar-like buildings, housing thousands of staff. The majority are women although many young people, especially graduates, also work in call centers. Canada's almost half-million call-center agents are suffering higher rates of stress and emotional difficulty than those in other industries. The findings estimate that among 100 recent hires at a call

center, 14 percent may be feeling high levels of stress, and 10 percent may experience high levels of depression (www.canada.com). For many United States companies, the Philippines is the country of choice for call centers not only because of its less expensive operational and labor costs, but the Filipinos close cultural affinity to Americans, their English proficiency, and high information technology literacy also proved advantageous. Thus, the country is a competitive destination for call centers. The call center industry has been dubbed a sunshine industry by the government. The Call Center Directory of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported that the Philippines now has 788 call centers in 20 key locations. The Philippines is a top Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) destination for the estimated $150billion business process outsourcing industry. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has reported that the country is fast emerging as the call center capital of the world. The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) stated that the Philippines has already overtaken India in the number of call center agents this year. India was said to be the call center capital for the recent years. Last year, there were about 300,000 employed Filipino call center agents. This year, the number increased to 350,000, compared to 330,000 in India. The countrys call center revenues are expected to reach $5.7 billion this year, $200 million higher compared to Indias $5.5 billion. The industry not only boosts the

countrys economy, but has become an answer for employment and an option for many Filipinos (www.mb.com.ph). Nevertheless, locally and internationally, stress is evident as statistics show. The challenges that stress and exhaustion puts married call center agents into, got our attention, thus the concern of this study. The researchers are 3rd year students taking up Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Cebu Sacred Heart College. The researchers intend to have this study because they find it relevant since call center (BPO Industry) has become phenomenal. It has been instilled in our minds that there are naturally positive and negative sides of things and events so they delved into making a research to seek for the downside particularly on stress exhaustion and work performance of the call center agents working in this industry. Also, this study is in line with our requirements on our subject, Nursing Research.