Miserable call centre staff take the most sick days

As far as jobs go, it can be very stressful dealing with irate customers, dull having to make the same call minute after minute following a script and generally a little soul destroying having to cold call people as they sit down for dinner. So it comes as no surprise then that call centre workers take the most days off sick according to new research. What I did find fascinating though is that

some call centres will go through 100% staff turnover each year! 100%. Now if that isn't an indicator of a job that no one really wants I don't know what is. With stats like that, perhaps it's impossible to improve life at work for these people - after all the pay is lousy and the perks are non existent. 

The problem I think with call centre work is being treated and received like a machine. You're never really treated as a person and your virtual anonymity makes it easier for customers to lose their tempers and shout. Also, your responsibilities are reduced to targets and numbers on a computer screen - not happy people smiling at you or getting to see the fruits of your labour. 

A bit of a dog's life really. 

It's interesting then that the jobs that have the lowest levels of sick days are those with the highest responsibilities - air traffic controllers and pilots.

Oh, and train drivers too - but I think that may be more related to the fact that they get over 37 days holiday a year.

Read more on this article here.

So when was the last time you called in sick?


Photograph by vlima.com (flickr)