Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-2012-0211-3197, November 2013. Evaluation of Job Stress and Work-Related Health Concerns at a Telephone Call Center.

摘要

The Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program received a confidential request from employees at a telephone call center. The employees were concerned about psychosocial factors at work and the impact of job stress on their health. Approximately 50 call center employees at this facility receive 2,000-5,000 calls per day and assist callers with U.S. citizenship and immigration services and benefit-related matters. HHE Program investigators visited the telephone call center in January 2013.We surveyed employees about job stress, psychosocial factors at work, job satisfaction, work-related health concerns, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. We also held a meeting with all employees to address questions and discuss mental health and suicide prevention. We received 38 of the 43 surveys we distributed. All employees reported a job stress score between 5 and 10; 46% rated their job stress at the highest level of 10. Employees reported that workload and the demanding nature of the job contributed to stress. Job satisfaction was low; most employees believed they did not receive the respect they deserved, theirsalary was inadequate, and promotion prospects were poor. Employees reported work-related health concerns that included headaches/migraines, musculoskeletal strain, and health effects (e.g., allergy and cold symptoms) they attributed to poor indoor environmental quality. Among survey respondents, 45% reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression and 39% reported moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety.