Mental Health a Priority in Contact Centers

If we look at the statistics, it is a bit shocking that 8 out of 10 employees in contact centers believe that work negatively impacts their mental health. Here we mention high levels of stress, burnout, and anxiety. Going beyond the numbers, we realize that these are some alarm signals.

All this has a significant impact on the entire ecosystem – from the employee to the employer. 95% of employees mentioned that their mental health brought them drastic drops in productivity, more frequent vacations or more rest days, and even increased absenteeism.

But why do contact centers experience such problems?

The list of reasons is probably quite long, but below is a list of some factors that contribute to high stress in contact centers.

Repetitive and high-volume work

If we look at a contact center agent, he has to take dozens of calls in a day. Usually, the work is not challenging, and the scripts used are the same, predefined. This can be demotivating, frustrating, and most of all, boring.

Micromanagement

Unfortunately, the stress that KPIs bring on employees is so thunderous that the need to be in control turns to micromanagement, and this leads to a breach of trust between management and the front line.

Lack of support

Underestimation, loneliness, and lack of support. The situations where they dribble everything come with a lot of pressure on the individual, and the pressure turns into stress and loneliness.

But let’s also look at the impact on productivity

With the digitalization of contact centers and the approach of remote work, managing all the work has become a challenge.

Indicators such as tardiness, absences, or waiting time in line are strictly monitored KPIs. By monitoring them, problems or situations that can easily escalate can be prevented.

At the same time, topics such as mental health began to appear on the agendas of management meetings.

How can mental health be improved in contact centers?

Let’s see how contact center sanity can be improved. Here are 4 ideas:

1. Mental health awareness

Perhaps the first and most important step is openly discussing mental health and making it a priority.

Free discussions with employees, process solutions to help employees but also mechanisms for prevention are some ideas to start from.

2. Be realistic about the workload

Most of the time, stress and mental health problems appear from the fact that employees are overwhelmed with work, and unrealistic expectations bring even more weight onto their shoulders.

A schedule from 9 to 6 does not mean 100% productivity all day. A break, a discussion with colleagues, or documentation are things that interrupt a continuous flow of work, but they facilitate close working relationships, more effective collaboration, and improved team morale.

So, take another look at the workload assigned to employees, but realistically.

3. Get rid of monotony

Let’s face it, working in a contact center can be boring. Day after day, it seems to follow the same scenario – calls, questions, complaints, and the same setup.

Break this monotony with short stretching or yoga sessions, 15 minutes of presentations related to topics of interest or hobbies, and a healthy snack in the middle of the day. A short and funny break can be a pleasant distraction in a day.

4. Embrace technology

Do we need to repeat it? We live in the digital age where digitalization is part of our daily routines. It’s time to be in your contact center too. Self-service and automation tools reduce call volumes, eliminate high volume, repetitive requests and let agents handle the more challenging, complex, and catchy interactions.

AI-based programming tools give them more flexibility and freedom, resulting in a better work-life balance.

Let’s get past the time when technology is this “boo-hoo” that steals the human place, many solutions improve the overall well-being of employees, resulting in happier teams and fewer mental health problems.