The BPO/call center industry is one of the largest industries today providing work to hundreds of thousands around the globe. It’s an absolute necessity in these times and most companies in the industry operate 24/7. Besides being a great opportunity as it pays well and requires minimum experience, the BPO industry offers a lot of positions making it highly sought after by people of all ages and walks of life. With its popularity, it’s fairly common for the call center industry to also have its risks working in it. In this article, we’ll guide you through tips on how you can stay safe when working in the call center industry.
Watch Your Physical Health
The number one danger of working in the call center industry is being too busy to look after one’s health. Due to the work hours and exposure to stress, call center agents can easily be neglectful of their personal health and this can lead to sickness and disease.
Most hours spent in the workplace involve little movement making call center agents’ lifestyles sedentary. See to it that you move around every now and then and exercise in your free time. One more factor is that since most call center agents work graveyard shifts, getting enough rest could be an issue. See to it that you are getting enough rest and aren’t working too much because not getting enough rest can lead to multiple health problems including fatal and long-term disease.
Be Mindful of Your Mental Health
Another danger stress brings to call center agents is when the workers’ mental health isn’t looked after. The nature of the work, in general, is stressful and can easily consume an agent’s mental well-being.
Most call-center offices offer 1-on-1 sessions and have open dialogues with management to help them voice out their concerns or if they feel burnt out. It’s also the responsibility of companies to see to it that they value and respect their workforce’s mental health.
Be wary of Your Lifestyle
It’s become common for call center agents, especially those on the night shift, to have lifestyle changes. This involves sleep pattern changes, frequent drinking, higher consumption of nicotine through smoking/vaping, and lack of adequate exercise. See to it that you are maintaining a healthy overall lifestyle. The general practices of the industry can easily influence an individual, so it’s important to be aware and to assess lifestyle habits from time to time.
Disinfecting Headsets, Keyboard, Mouse, and Other Work-Related Tools
In today’s world, sanitation is very important to ensure that there are no breakouts of diseases in the office. As the world learns to normalize reporting to work again, it’s very important to sanitize the workplace and equipment used to avoid the spread of viruses within the workplace. See to it that employees disinfect their workplace right after their shifts to keep it clean for the next shift.
Proper Housekeeping at the Office
Besides disinfecting personal workspaces, it’s good practice to maintain housekeeping within the workplace. The workplace can be exposed to multiple people coming from different areas so making sure that it is often disinfected and clean will avoid the spread of viruses within the workplace. Besides its relevance in today’s time, one more advantage is that keeping the workplace clean and free from obstacles or objects that may cause accidents helps prevent workplace injuries due to poor housekeeping.
Accountability as Part of the Culture
Accountability is a very simple gesture yet can impact organizations a lot. Putting accountability as one of the core values within the organization reminds everyone to be responsible and to always think about their peers too.
Take these tips and keep you and your coworkers in the call center industry safe and healthy!