A Call Center Agent's solution to Job Burn Out

picture source: http://jobcontax.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/do-you-have-job-burnout/

by: Silver Cepeda

Made a quick survey over Facebook. I asked some of my friends who worked in call centers located in Manila and Cebu. The question was very simple. Who do you work for? Their answers were quick. Someone answered that he worked for Convergys, others Aegis People Support and another branding their company in all capital letters STREAM! Answers like, "I work for the big ten call center" was a bit off the grid. There were others who deemed to be silent with no answers at all. It would not be important then since whatever they may have said, it was not the answer that I was looking for. For me, they were all wrong no matter how they present it. Well, to go with the flow I work for EBusiness BPO. Unfortunately, this is also wrong!

There is a deadly disease in our industry - the call center! Fortunately it is not related to smoking! Nevertheless, it is still deadly because it kills the person, the agent who is the frontline of production.That disease is called Job Burn Out!

I read an article written by Dawn Rosenberg McKay a career planning professional. Let me summarize her point.

First, Rosenberg defines it as "exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration". It usually happens to people with people that works harder and longer hours to prove their worth. In addition it is also experienced by people who worked for something but then would not receive any gratitude for what they did.Concrete events are when there are no raise and no promotion. The third one that she mentioned as the cause of this is being in the wrong career. You can be in the right career but wrong job! 

In a call center set up the effects can be a lot let me discuss a few. It starts when you wake up. When your alarm clock rings! There are two reactions that instantly comes into your head. If its, "I don't want to face my boss or any colleague today so I'm gonna call in sick". That is the start! Next, you go to work and everything feels very heavy like as if the foundation of your twenty storey building is on your shoulder. Then it is starting to crawl up. You feel this way but you are not sick! In fact you just got back from your fake illness. Inbox piles up! The workload is mounting up. And then, you feel that you are not worth anything. The conclusion, is AWOL or resignation.  

The solution? Let me say this first. I am not a psychologist. In contrary I am a Philosophy graduate, poised to critically analyze any given situation. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I am not in authority. Hence, I write from my own experience. There  is a simple way to resolve this disease when it starts or before it does. Before,  I use to wonder why people who are married or with children stay longer in the company or those people who are the bread winners in the family. I happened to talk to one. She was a colleague of mine, a mother with no husband. She said, "I stay longer because of my child!" This conversation made me get the answer that I was looking for. I do not work for the company. Well, yeah I do! But the reason why I work long hours or at night is because of the people who love me. 

There is no glory when you think that you work for your company no matter how big the salary is. It is not the "primal cause". I used to answer irate calls from customers who are basically  pissed off about something. No matter how my supervisor would convince me to let it go - it does not! Someway or another it goes into my system. And just imagine answering to sixty in a day! But I will let you in to one of my secret. If such an event happen and I feel really down. I go to Jolibee with my daughter and buy spaghetti for her. Watching her devour the whole serving makes me smile and energizes me to answer a hundred and twenty irate callers. My point, think of those people who loves you. That is the secret! If you go to the office thinking that you are doing this because your grandmother asked for a Louis Vuitton handbag for Christmas it is worth it compared to, a reason of pleasing your handsome boss. Her smile is more precious than a pat in the back! Pleasing your boss is not a good goal if you want to stay in the company or in this case a call center. Believe me there will be someone who is or will be better than you. And his standard or the company's standard will definitely change through time specially in this industry. A better concept then is you want to be the best or a top seller becuase it pays high. When it pays high you and the person you love would live better. Always consider the primal cause because it will never change. It is something that you can get hold of. The company's metrics will change as the client's demand increases. So chasing it would cause you long hours, added pressure, and stress. Once you reach it then what's next? Job burn out, that's what's next!  Trust me I have done that with my previous jobs. Chase your ambition not because you want to be glorified but because you want to make the people who matters happy. I just want to say that it is all about the reason! Once you have the right one then it is not hard to work at all no matter what your manager wants from you.

Now, what if you are single? The answer to that is not to make your own family. I know that you have your own. And when I say family, I meant the Filipino concept of the word that includes grand parents, aunts and cousins. There is always someone who will show attention, gratitude and care in a constant manner. Once you found that someone. Share your achievements. Make it your goal to make yourself and that person happy. When that happens, your existence in the company has a reason and a higher pupose. Thus, you are motivated to work hard rather than be forced to do so!

So going back to Rosenberg's definition. With my method the agent take to himself/herself an inspiration from the people who loves him/her. Hence, experiencing gratitude with whatever he does. It does not matter now that your boss shouted at you before you logged out because your child's embrace can easily wipe it out. It does not matter if you fail to meet the metrics last month because your grand mother thinks your the best! Then be the best for next month. One cannot be exhausted of emotional strength if you have such a good support system. So change your focus from being company-centric to loved-one-centric for you to have a good output and longer service!

Hence, if I am asked as to who do I work for. I would say that I work for that person below. She is my daughter. Her name is Mishka Mikhaela Cepeda. She is the most beautiful girl in the world! And she is the reason why everyday I want to be a better supervisor.