Newsletter

Online Newsletter for Call Center Personnel
Rosanne D'Ausilio, Ph.D. Editor and Publisher
Volume VII, Issue 2

Date: February 1, 2006 - Are You Taking Care of Your Employees?

A recent NIOSH study reports that  

• more than 50% of employees view job stress as a major problem in their lives – double from a decade ago

• $300 + billion in absenteeism, burnout, etc. – up from $200 = just 10 years ago according to the American Institute of Stress

• 85% of corporate executives don’t use all the time off they’re entitled to. 

Are you one of these statistics?

 More specifically, it’s reported that customer service/technical support positions are one of the 10 most stressful jobs in America today.  As a matter of fact, 45% of all manager and 75% of all workers say “my job causes me stress.”   Do you agree?

 A recent survey done by CCH a provider of human resources and employment law information released its 2005 CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey with interesting results.  It found that only 35% of unscheduled absences are due to illness.  What’s the other 65% you ask?

             21% family issues
            18% personal needs
            14% entitlement mentality
            12% stress

 Further it’s estimated that employee absenteeism costs companies $660 per employee per year, up from $610 in 2004. And, low morale continues to take its toll in higher costs and rates of absence.

 On the other hand, a new word (at least to me) “presenteeism”—when a sick employee comes to work—is a concern for 48% of the companies in this survey. 

What are companies doing?  The survey found that 67% of companies have programs for work-life balance, absence-control programs (leave for school functions), alternate work arrangements, etc. as compared to 16% in 2000.

I don’t necessarily agree with this.  I believe, and have a case study to support my contention, that if you

• provide customer service skills training and increase employee’s skill sets

• give them the tools and techniques to handle the stress, morale, and entitlement mentality and

• acknowledge their worth to you by investing in them,

these numbers will notably decrease, morale will significantly increase, as will productivity and customer satisfaction.