Workplace resistance in an Irish call centre: slammin’,                 scammin’ smokin’ an’ leavin’

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider existing debates within the sociology of work, particularly the re-emergence of labour process theory (LPT) and the “collective worker”, in relation to resistance at work. Through presentation of primary data and a dialectical discussion about the nature of ideology, the paper offers alternative interpretations on long-standing debates and raises questions about the efficacy of workplace resistance. Design/methodology/approach The design of this methodology is an ethnographic study of a call centre in the North-East of England, a covert participant observation at “Call Direct” supplemented by semi-structured interviews with call centre employees. Findings The findings in this paper suggest that resistance in the call centre mirrors forms of resistance outlined elsewhere in both the call centre literature and classical workplace studies from the industrial era. However, in presenting an alternative interpretation of ideology, as working at the level of action rather than thought, the paper reinterprets the data and characterises workplace resistance as lacking the political potential for change often emphasised in LPT and other workplace studies. Originality/value The original contribution of this paper is in applying an alternative interpretation of ideology to a long-standing debate. In asking sociology of work scholars to consider the “reversal of ideology”, it presents an alternative perspective on resistance in the workplace and raises questions about the efficacy of workplace disobedience.

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Work Stress and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours (OCBs) in Call Centers Employees

International Journal of Indian Psychology ◽

10.25215/0301.167 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sunita ◽

Urvashi Singh ◽

Shalini Singh ◽

Rajnee Sharma

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Call Centers ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Married Couples ◽

Call Centre ◽

Simple Correlation ◽

Nuclear Families ◽

Set Up ◽

Stress At Work ◽

The Relationship

The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between organisational stress and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) in employees of call centers. The study also further explored as how stress at work set-up has negative impact on OCBs. A sample of 250 employees working in call centre of Gurgaon belonging to an age group of 25-30 years were selected on availability basis. All were working married couples living in nuclear families. Job stress survey (Spielberger & Vagg, 1999) and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (Bateman & Organ, 1983) were administered. Data was analysed by using simple correlation and multiple regression. Results showed the negative relationship between organisational stress and OCBs. Results of regression analysis also exhibited the negative impact of stress on OCBs. The implications for the employees are discussed.

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Call centre periphery. Teleservices and economic development in rural Scotland. / Centres d'appel et développement économique en Ecosse rurale.

Géocarrefour ◽

10.3406/geoca.2000.2457 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 79-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Andrew E. Gillespie ◽

Ranald Richardson

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Call Centre ◽

Développement Économique

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Call Centre

Interpretation of Commercial Contracts in European Private Law ◽

10.1017/9781839700859.012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 287-310

Keyword(s):

Call Centre

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Assessing the impact of a combined nutrition counselling and cash transfer intervention on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh: a randomised control trial protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e044263

Author(s):

Elizabeth K Kirkwood ◽

Michael John Dibley ◽

John Frederick Hoddinott ◽

Tanvir Huda ◽

Tracey Lea Laba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Data ◽

Women's Empowerment ◽

Cash Transfer ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Randomised Control Trial ◽

Call Centre ◽

Rural Bangladesh ◽

Nutrition Counselling ◽

The Impact ◽

Unconditional Cash Transfer

IntroductionThere is growing interest in assessing the impact of health interventions, particularly when women are the focus of the intervention, on women’s empowerment. Globally, research has shown that interventions targeting nutrition, health and economic development can affect women’s empowerment. Evidence suggests that women’s empowerment is also an underlying determinant of nutrition outcomes. Depending on the focus of the intervention, different domains of women’s empowerment will be influenced, for example, an increase in nutritional knowledge, or greater control over income and access to resources.ObjectiveThis study evaluates the impact of the Shonjibon Cash and Counselling (SCC) Trial that combines nutrition counselling and an unconditional cash transfer, delivered on a mobile platform, on women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh.Methods and analysisWe will use a mixed-methods approach, combining statistical analysis of quantitative data from 2840 women in a cluster randomised controlled trial examining the impact of nutrition behaviour change communications (BCCs) and cash transfers on child undernutrition. Pregnant participants will be given a smartphone with a customised app, delivering nutrition BCC messages, and will receive nutrition counselling via a call centre and an unconditional cash transfer. This study is a component of the SCC Trial and will measure women’s empowerment using a composite indicator based on the Project-Level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, with quantitative data collection at baseline and endline. Thematic analysis of qualitative data, collected through longitudinal interviews with women, husbands and mothers-in-law, will elicit a local understanding of women’s empowerment and the linkages between the intervention and women’s empowerment outcomes. This paper describes the study protocol to evaluate women’s empowerment in a nutrition-specific and sensitive intervention using internationally validated, innovative tools and will help fill the evidence gap on pathways of impact, highlighting areas to target for future programming.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been obtained from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (Ref. PR 17106) and The University of Sydney (Ref: 2019/840). Findings from this study will be shared in Bangladesh with dissemination sessions in-country and internationally at conferences, and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

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