Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers

dc.contributor.advisorMulenga, Chao Nkhungulu
dc.contributor.authorKortman, Carmalita
dc.date.accessioned2023-03-13T14:27:02Z
dc.date.available2023-03-13T14:27:02Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.date.updated2023-03-10T13:05:05Z
dc.description.abstractOrganisations have readily adopted alternative forms of work that deviate from the traditional standard employment relationship. Temporary employment or fixed-term employment has become a norm, especially in the call centre industry. In addition to the call centre environment being a major contributor to stress and job insecurity, the status of temporary employment brings along its own damaging outcomes for those employees impacted. That is, the experiences of working in a call centre environment are enhanced by the experiences of being in a precarious employment relationship. The objective of this study was to investigate the well-being experiences of fixed-term contract call centre employees in a financial services sector institution. This qualitative study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm and utilised an exploratory descriptive approach to understand the phenomena under study. Nine (9) fixed-term employees from three (3) different servicing call centres in the business were interviewed telephonically for this study. The study sample comprised Black, Coloured, and Indian males and females with an average age of 25 years old, an NQF4 level education or higher, and average tenure of 2.5 years in the organisation. The findings indicated that fixed-term call centre employees perceived their work arrangements and environments to be sources of stress, insecurity and instability, a hindrance to career development, and expressed overall negative affect on their well-being. Employees' negative well-being experiences were intensified during the COVID19 lockdown period which brought about many consequences for the general economy and specifically those already in vulnerable work arrangements. The study found that social support amongst co-workers was a buffer between the pressures experienced by fixed-term call centre employees and their well-being.
dc.identifier.apacitationKortman, C. (2022). <i>Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers</i>. (). ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37427en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKortman, Carmalita. <i>"Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers."</i> ., ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37427en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKortman, C. 2022. Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers. . ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37427en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Master Thesis AU - Kortman, Carmalita AB - Organisations have readily adopted alternative forms of work that deviate from the traditional standard employment relationship. Temporary employment or fixed-term employment has become a norm, especially in the call centre industry. In addition to the call centre environment being a major contributor to stress and job insecurity, the status of temporary employment brings along its own damaging outcomes for those employees impacted. That is, the experiences of working in a call centre environment are enhanced by the experiences of being in a precarious employment relationship. The objective of this study was to investigate the well-being experiences of fixed-term contract call centre employees in a financial services sector institution. This qualitative study was conducted in the interpretive paradigm and utilised an exploratory descriptive approach to understand the phenomena under study. Nine (9) fixed-term employees from three (3) different servicing call centres in the business were interviewed telephonically for this study. The study sample comprised Black, Coloured, and Indian males and females with an average age of 25 years old, an NQF4 level education or higher, and average tenure of 2.5 years in the organisation. The findings indicated that fixed-term call centre employees perceived their work arrangements and environments to be sources of stress, insecurity and instability, a hindrance to career development, and expressed overall negative affect on their well-being. Employees' negative well-being experiences were intensified during the COVID19 lockdown period which brought about many consequences for the general economy and specifically those already in vulnerable work arrangements. The study found that social support amongst co-workers was a buffer between the pressures experienced by fixed-term call centre employees and their well-being. DA - 2022_ DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - precarious KW - well-being KW - call centre employee KW - fixed-term contractor KW - financial services sector institution LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2022 T1 - Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers TI - Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37427 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/37427
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKortman C. Exploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers. []. ,Faculty of Commerce ,Organisational Psychology, 2022 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37427en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentOrganisational Psychology
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerce
dc.subjectprecarious
dc.subjectwell-being
dc.subjectcall centre employee
dc.subjectfixed-term contractor
dc.subjectfinancial services sector institution
dc.titleExploring employee well-being among precarious (fixed-term) call center workers
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMSc
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