How to Reduce Stress in The Call Center?

Are your call center agents stressed 😩 Are you looking for ways to help them reduce stress? Then, you have landed in a perfect spot.🎯

With tightly controlled schedules, breaks, intense performance pressure, and targets, Call handling in a call center is without a doubt the top ten most stressful job globally. With this much pressure and changing expectations, it is difficult for call center agents to remain calm and collected. Research also shows that 59% of contact center agents are at risk of burnout due to pressure at call centers.💨

Apart from pressure, employees working in a call center need help balancing work-life balance. The increasing stress is harming agents both physically and mentally. So, to keep track of employee well-being and reduce stress, we have presented you the reasons for stress, the long-term effects of call center stress on employees, and some of the necessary tips to reduce and manage stress.🤦🏻‍♂️

So, let’s get started !! 🏁

What is call center stress?

Call center stress is generally a sense of tension, pressure, and strain experienced by individuals while working in call centers. Call center job is a stressful job, but the intensity of the stress of the call center agents depends upon how the agents handle the inbound, and outbound calls and react to different difficult situations.

In a call center, call center agents must deal with different customers with different mindsets. Some might be calm, friendly, and polite, while some might call with rage and anger. Dealing with such customers with a target to meet can be really stressful for agents.

Another major task of call center agents, apart from making inbound calls, dealing with the customer, and resolving the customer’s issues, is to make outbound sales calls. Pitching the disinterested customers can be a hectic job. As good service is the priority task for many businesses today, call center agents must try their best to provide customer service, retain customers, and troubleshoot their issues. Thus, this can create a sense of mental tension among agents, which later can negatively impact agents’ mental health, causing anxiety, anger issues, and insomnia.

Moreover, if the stress level of the agents is high, this can significantly reduce agent’s productivity, decrease employee retention rate, cause absenteeism, and lead to agent burnout. 

📣Read: How to Improve Customer Experience in a Call Center?

What are the top reasons for  Call Center Agent Stress?

There might be several reasons for call center agents’ stress. Some of the top reasons are:
 

• High Call Volume: Call center agents should deal with hundreds of customers in a day. Thus, dealing with a consistently high volume of calls can be overwhelming and stressful for agents. This will ultimately lead to the feeling of stress, and call center agents will be unable to provide quality service.

• Monotonous  Tasks: In a call center, agents are compelled to perform the same task over and over again. They repeatedly have to answer calls with similar answers, solving the same issues throughout the day. Thus, this will lead to boredom and monotony, which can lead to a sense of stress and agent burnout.

• Irregular shifts and  Long Hours: Most of the call centers operate 24/7. So agents must work irregular shifts, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, these factors can seriously disrupt sleep patterns and personal life, leading to increased stress and fatigue.

• Demanding Customer: Customer expectations and demand keeps on changing. When a consumer has a problem, they contact the call center right away pour all their emotion and expect a quick resolution. As a result, handling furious or challenging customers can be emotionally exhausting and stressful.

• Specific Targets and Metrics: Generally, call center agents have targets to meet every day. They have to meet the specific target with strict performance metrics. Call center agents are expected to meet specific targets such as call handling time, customer satisfaction scores, and sales quotas. Thus, the pressure to consistently meet these targets can be stressful for agents.

• Inadequate Training and Support: The caller reaches out to the call center with different motives. Some of the customers call to get information. Some may call to complain about the problem, billing, and several different reasons. So, call center agents must have enough knowledge and information to inform the callers and solve their issues effectively. So, when there is no sufficient training and support, agents feel underconfident in handling customer inquiries effectively, which can increase stress and anxiety.

• Limited Opportunities and Lack of Autonomy: Call center roles are often considered entry-level positions with limited opportunities for career growth. This can also be a major reason for stress as an employee, everyone expects growth. Moreover, call center agents may feel micromanaged or lack control over their work environment. This feeling can lead to frustration, tension, and disempowerment among agents.

• Technological Issues: Dealing with customers all day, when call center agents face technical glitches and system crashes, they can get stressed. Moreover, Outdated software and hardware can disrupt workflow and hinder agents’ ability to assist customers, leading to frustration and stress.

• Emotional Labor: Call center agents must manage their emotions and remain calm and professional, even in challenging situations. However, managing one’s emotions can be tiring and stressful and lead to agent burnout.

📋This might be helpful for you: 6 Most Important Call Center Skills Every Agent Should Have in 2024

What are some long-term effects of call center stress on employees?

Call center jobs can be very monotonous and hectic over time. Call center agents have to deal with customers on a daily basis, and dealing with people is really a hard job to do. This can create stress on the call center agent. Here are some potential long-term effects of call center stress on employees:

• Burnout: Prolonged stress can lead to burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness at work.

• Physical Health Issues: Chronic stress may contribute to various physical health problems, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, digestive issues, and a weakened immune system.

• Mental Health Challenges: Employees may experience increased levels of anxiety, depression, or other mental health disorders due to ongoing stress.

• Decreased Job Satisfaction: Continuous stress can diminish employees’ job satisfaction, leading to decreased motivation, engagement, and productivity.

• Strained Relationships: High-stress levels may spill over into employees’ personal lives, causing conflicts with family and friends and impacting overall well-being.

• Reduced Performance: Long-term stress can impair cognitive function, memory, and decision-making abilities, potentially affecting job performance and career advancement.

• Higher Turnover Rates: Employees experiencing chronic stress may be more likely to leave their jobs, leading to increased turnover rates and associated costs for the organization.

Addressing these long-term effects requires proactive measures to support employees’ well-being, such as providing stress management resources, promoting work-life balance, fostering a positive work environment, and offering professional development and growth opportunities.

How to reduce and manage call center stress?

Yes, agents get stressed and fatigued due to the work pressure of the call center. So, considering the importance of customer service and employee well-being, call centers should promote happy working hours and help employees reduce their stress. By doing so, the agents will be more productive and reduce agent burnout and absenteeism. Here are some of the ways to reduce and manage call center stress:

Provide adequate training

Training is vital for any newcomers, especially in the call center sector. Call center agents should handle calls effectively and provide immediate solutions to customer issues as quickly as possible. So, they must be knowledgeable and have the skills to handle customers; otherwise, they may feel underconfident and experience a sense of tension. 

So, make sure to provide agents with training through coaching and mentoring on the products/services, the use of software and technologies, and how to deal with different customers. Prepare the agents with proper training before onboarding. By doing so, agents will be able to deal with any stressful situations, feel more confident and calm, increase job satisfaction, and significantly reduce stress.

Create a Positive Work Environment

Creating a positive work environment can also be a great way to reduce the call center stress. You don’t want to add another stress to an already stressful job, so make sure to provide a good working environment and practice a good working culture. You can also improve their working experience by considering agent stress and burnout while setting deadlines and scheduling shifts. 

Also, make sure to verbally acknowledge their work effort, appreciate their work, increase employee involvement, provide constructive feedback, provide them with enough breaks, and address concerns promptly to maintain morale and motivation. By doing so, you can eliminate toxic work environments and create a good working environment for call center agents. This will also significantly help reduce stress, employee retention, and absenteeism.

Address Technological Challenges and invest in better technologies.

86% of workers reported experiencing too slow technology, 80% reported frequent system crashes or malfunctions, and 52% felt that information in their systems was inadequate. Thus, outdated technologies can significantly affect the call center process, and agents may easily get stressed. So, ensure that all the technological challenges agents face are addressed and that they are provided with the best technology to lessen their workload and pressure. In this technologically advanced era, staying up to date with the latest technologies and software can be a great way to minimize agents’ workload.

So invest in modern technology, use automation, and use a good call center service provider like Dialaxy to simplify call center processes, reduce repetitive work, and minimize technical issues. By doing so, agents’ work pressure is reduced, and they can work on their core activities without any stress and deliver a top-notch customer experience.

📝Note: Provide training and support to ensure agents can use these tools effectively.

📌You might also like Ultimate Guide to Investing on Call Center in 2024

Promote Work-Life Balance

Today, employees heavily emphasize work-life balance. They tend to balance their work and personal lives to enjoy life to the fullest. Promoting work-life balance is also vital for reducing the agent’s stress and improving employee well-being in a call center. The call center should provide a flexible work schedule, including breaks and days off, and set realistic expectations. By doing so, employees can manage their work commitments while attending to personal responsibilities and interests.

If agents have a healthy balance between work and personal life, they can recharge, stay motivated, and reduce stress and burnout. Moreover, promoting a work-life balance at the call center significantly enhances employee satisfaction and increases overall productivity and employee retention rate.

Allow agent autonomy and Empower agent.  

Call centers should empower their employee with autonomy and decision-making authority. When the agent has some level of freedom and decision-making capabilities, they will have control of the work environment, handle the customers better, reduce stress, and enhance job satisfaction. The call center agents might be tensed and under pressure, if they are not empowered; they will have an extreme fear of the upper hierarchy, cannot make quick decisions, have difficulties encountering challenging situations, and upset customers.

So empowering the agents and fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility for their tasks can significantly increase engagement, reduce stress, and keep them motivated. Moreover, autonomy allows agents to customize their approach to suit individual customer needs, resulting in more personalized interactions and higher levels of customer satisfaction. By trusting agents to make informed decisions, organizations demonstrate confidence in their abilities, boosting morale and reducing stress associated with micromanagement.

🎁Bonus Tip: Call centers can also teach stress management techniques like box breathing techniques. 😤 

Conclusion 

So, call center companies today should pay close attention to how to reduce call center stress. Companies must check on agent’s well-being physically and mentally because they are the main representative of their company. They are appointed with the job of handling their customers promptly, maintaining the professional image of the company as well as improving overall customer experience.

So, Make sure to follow these tips to reduce stress and create a good working environment for the agents. A stressful working environment invites agent burnout, absenteeism, and mental stress. So, consider providing a stress-free working environment to enhance the agents’ productivity, deliver good customer service, and take the business to another level.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs

What are some common causes of stress in call centers?

Some of the common causes of stress faced in call centers are 

• High call volume
• Changing demand and expectations of customers
• Controlled environment
• Lack of control over work schedules
• Strict performance metrics 
• Monotonous and Repetitive tasks
• Imbalance of work-life balance

Are there any technological solutions to reduce stress in call centers?

Outdated technologies invite stress among call centers, whereas there are technological solutions such as AI-powered chatbots, automated call routing, modern call center software, and call analytics tools that help agents lessen their workload and streamline call center processes.

What strategies can agents use to cope with stressful calls?

Agents can cope with stressful calls by practicing active listening, empathizing with customers, taking deep breaths, using positive self-talk, and taking short breaks between calls to decompress.