The context of this research is the coping and wellness of call centre agents in a characteristically high-stress work environment. The purpose of the study was to construct a psychological coping profile by investigating the relationship between individuals‘ wellness-related dispositional attributes and their resiliency-related behavioural capacities which has been under researched in a call centre work environment. A quantitative cross-sectional survey approach was followed. The population comprised predominantly of a non –probability sample of (N=409) predominantly early career permanently employed black females employed in call centres in Africa. Correlation and multivariate statistics highlighted cognitive (cynicism and hardy-control), affective (managing own emotions) and conative (hardy-commitment) behavioural elements that should be considered in the psychological coping profile of call centre agents. Age and gender were also shown to be significant moderators of the relationship between the wellness-related attributes and the resiliency-related capacities. The main findings are reported and interpreted in terms of an empirically derived psychological coping profile. The findings may provide valuable pointers for the design of wellness intervention practices which add to the body of knowledge concerned with employee wellness in call centres / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

<p>The call centre industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa. Call centres have for most companies become a basic business requirement for servicing customers. Zapf, Isic, Bechtoldt and Blau (2003: 311) argue that there are high levels of stress amongst employees in call centres, which they believe to be the result of both the work tasks and the interactions with customers. The aim of this study was to establish whether call centre work design and structure contributed to role stress amongst client service representatives (CSRs). It was also the aim of this study to establish whether role stress affected the CSRs‟ levels of job satisfaction and their intentions to quit from their jobs.</p>

The current study was interested in determining the moderating role of psychological capital in the relationship between job stress and the outcomes of incivility and job involvement among employees at a call centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. A quantitative research design was adopted in conducting this study. The relationships between psychological capital, job stress, incivility and job involvement were examined using two theoretical frameworks, namely, the Broaden-and-Build Theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998) and the Job Stress Model (Spector & Fox, 2002). The research aimed to determine the relationship between psychological capital, job stress, incivility and job involvement, whether psychological capital and job stress held predictive value for the outcomes of incivility and job involvement, and the extent to which psychological capital moderated the relationship between job stress and incivility and job stress and job involvement. The sample consisted of 104 call centre agents, 28 male and 76 female employees, who were required to complete questionnaires measuring each of the constructs under study. Data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, multiple regression analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. The findings of the study indicated that high levels of psychological capital correlated with low levels of incivility and high job involvement. Additionally, a high level of job stress was associated with high incivility and low job involvement. The findings of the study further indicated that job stress predicted incivility and job involvement, while the optimism dimension of psychological capital also predicted job involvement. Additionally, psychological capital did not moderate the relationship between job stress and incivility nor did it moderate the relationship between job stress and job involvement. The study contributes to the existing literature on psychological capital, job stress, incivility and job involvement while adding a new dimension to the existing literature available on each of these constructs, by determining the relationships between the constructs. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

<p>The call centre industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa. Call centres have for most companies become a basic business requirement for servicing customers. Zapf, Isic, Bechtoldt and Blau (2003: 311) argue that there are high levels of stress amongst employees in call centres, which they believe to be the result of both the work tasks and the interactions with customers. The aim of this study was to establish whether call centre work design and structure contributed to role stress amongst client service representatives (CSRs). It was also the aim of this study to establish whether role stress affected the CSRs‟ levels of job satisfaction and their intentions to quit from their jobs.</p>

The objective of this study was to: (1) assess the overall wellness climate profile of a sample of higher education call centre employees for national benchmarking purposes; (2) explore the relationship between the participants‟ sense of coherence, affective wellbeing and burnout; and (3) determine how the participants differ regarding these variables in terms of socio-demographic contextual factors such as gender, race, age, and marital status. The South African Employee Health and Wellness Survey was used as a measuring instrument. Compared to the national norm, the results indicated a risky wellness climate reflecting a burnout propensity, lower morale (affective wellbeing) and lower resilience (sense of coherence). Significant relations existed between the participants‟ sense of coherence, affective wellbeing and burnout levels. Significant differences regarding these variables were also detected between males and females and the various marital status groups regarding the participants‟ sense of coherence, affective wellbeing and burnout. The findings of this study contributed new knowledge that may be used to inform employee wellness programmes within a higher education call centre environment. The study concluded with recommendations for future research and practice. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / The call centre industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa. Call centres have for most companies become a basic business requirement for servicing customers. Zapf, Isic, Bechtoldt and Blau (2003: 311) argue that there are high levels of stress amongst employees in call centres, which they believe to be the result of both the work tasks and the interactions with customers. The aim of this study was to establish whether call centre work design and structure contributed to role stress amongst client service representatives (CSRs). It was also the aim of this study to establish whether role stress affected the CSRs' levels of job satisfaction and their intentions to quit from their jobs. / South Africa

The master’s thesis analyzes the key performance areas of the call centre, which contact debtors of nonbank company, which provides loans. An author analyze a collection process with a wide range of statistical methods and then propose actions, which would lead to do this process more effective, which overall will lead to a better performance of whole call centre.

Bakgrund Callcenter- verksamhet har vuxit fram snabbt och utvecklats mycket under de senaste årtionden, både internationellt och i Sverige. Det är en verksamhet som innebär många utmaningar i en ofta komplex arbetsmiljö med höga krav på samverkan inom systemperspektivet Människa - Teknik - Organisation. Arbetsförmedlingen tillhandahåller handläggning per telefon via kundtjänster på sju olika orter i Sverige. Korttidssjukfrånvaron ansågs högre i denna verksamhet än i övriga organisationen och målet var att minska den.   Syfte Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om det fanns arbetsmiljöfaktorer på Arbetsförmedlingen Kundtjänst som förklarade korttidssjukfrånvaron. Detta genom att tillämpa ett MTO- perspektiv (Människa - Teknik - Organisation).   Metod För att få svar på vår frågeställning tillämpades metodtriangulering genom kvalitativ och kvantitativ datainsamling. En halvdags observation och 16 semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes på Arbetsförmedlingens kundtjänst i Södertälje och 76 enkäter utfördes på kundtjänsterna i Södertälje och Söderhamn.   Resultat Utifrån resultaten i vår studie gick det inte att se samband mellan fysisk arbetsmiljö, höga krav eller låg kontroll och korttidssjukfrånvaro på grund av arbetet. Det fanns dock en statistiskt signifikant skillnad beträffande vissa frågor om arbetsförhållanden och korttidssjukfrånvaro på grund av arbetet.   Slutsats På de flesta frågor kunde sambandet mellan korttidssjukfrånvaro och fysisk och psykosocial arbetsmiljö inte påvisas. Däremot fanns en statistisk signifikans i några frågor gällande arbetsförhållanden i denna studie. Det fanns således flera faktorer i arbetsmiljön som skulle kunna förbättras och därmed individens upplevelse av arbetsmiljön. Detta kanske kunde bidra till minskad korttidssjukfrånvaro. Trots att det fanns vissa frågor som påvisade en signifikant skillnad mellan arbetsförhållanden och korttidssjukfrånvaro var det svårt att dra slutsatser på grund av studiens design samt att underlaget var litet. Interventioner i systemkomponenterna Människa – Teknik - Organisation kan vara av värde för att minska korttidssjukfrånvaron.

Sammanfattning   Bakgrund Callcenter- verksamhet har vuxit fram snabbt och utvecklats mycket under de senaste årtionden, både internationellt och i Sverige. Det är en verksamhet som innebär många utmaningar i en ofta komplex arbetsmiljö med höga krav på samverkan inom systemperspektivet Människa - Teknik - Organisation. Arbetsförmedlingen tillhandahåller handläggning per telefon via kundtjänster på sju olika orter i Sverige. Korttidssjukfrånvaron ansågs högre i denna verksamhet än i övriga organisationen och målet var att minska den.   Syfte Huvudsyftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka om det fanns arbetsmiljöfaktorer på Arbetsförmedlingen Kundtjänst som förklarade korttidssjukfrånvaron. Detta genom att tillämpa ett MTO- perspektiv (Människa - Teknik - Organisation).   Metod För att få svar på vår frågeställning tillämpades metodtriangulering genom kvalitativ och kvantitativ datainsamling. En halvdags observation och 16 semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes på Arbetsförmedlingens kundtjänst i Södertälje och 76 enkäter utfördes på kundtjänsterna i Södertälje och Söderhamn.   Resultat Utifrån resultaten i vår studie gick det inte att se samband mellan fysisk arbetsmiljö, höga krav eller låg kontroll och korttidssjukfrånvaro på grund av arbetet. Det fanns dock en statistiskt signifikant skillnad beträffande vissa frågor om arbetsförhållanden och korttidssjukfrånvaro på grund av arbetet.   Slutsats På de flesta frågor kunde sambandet mellan korttidssjukfrånvaro och fysisk och psykosocial arbetsmiljö inte påvisas. Däremot fanns en statistisk signifikans i några frågor gällande arbetsförhållanden i denna studie. Det fanns således flera faktorer i arbetsmiljön som skulle kunna förbättras och därmed individens upplevelse av arbetsmiljön. Detta kanske kunde bidra till minskad korttidssjukfrånvaro. Trots att det fanns vissa frågor som påvisade en signifikant skillnad mellan arbetsförhållanden och korttidssjukfrånvaro var det svårt att dra slutsatser på grund av studiens design samt att underlaget var litet. Interventioner i systemkomponenterna Människa – Teknik - Organisation kan vara av värde för att minska korttidssjukfrånvaron.

Timely management in pre-hospital emergency care enhances the chances of patients' survival or clinical outcomes of an Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). In Botswana nurses serve in the frontline of pre-hospital emergency services as the initial recipients of the emergency reports and situations. Knowledge of the patient's characteristics will assist the nurses as well as the family/others to understand the patient's responses during an ACS situation and therefore enable prompt patient assessment and facilitation of early access to appropriate care. Patient and family involvement in care during cardiac emergencies also influences the patient outcomes. This is a non-experimental, quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study, designed to explore and describe the characteristics of patients with the experience of an ACS, and the available resources during the pre-hospital phase of emergency care, with the aim of improving patients' clinical outcomes. The results indicated that optimal care by nurses is essential in the chain of care influencing patients' chances of surviving ACS. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)