Precariousness and call centre work: Operators’ perceptions in Portugal and Brazil

Abstract

We present comparative research on operators' perceptions of the work process in two telecommunications call centres, one in Portugal and the other in Brazil. We argue that, despite the different pace of economic performance in recent years in Portugal and Brazil, there is a common trend towards casualization. Despite differences between the two call centres, both case studies show a process that imposes standardized behaviour. By exploring the subjective perceptions of call centre operators, we contribute to the 'pessimistic' (but probably more realistic) strand of literature on call centre work.

What is precarious employment? A systematic review of definitions and operationalizations from quantitative and qualitative studies

“…Rodgers & Rodgers definition from 1989 underlined the importance that employment instability and insecurity play in PE (94). This is very similar to the derived dimension "employment insecurity", emerged from the reviewed studies that highlighted how contractual employment arrangements evoked feelings of insecurity and instability directed towards the future (67,70,73,74,81). Many studies looked at contract status as the only indicator for PE (25,26,31,34,37,38,41,47,48,51,52).…”

“…Other times fixed-term contracts were identified by contract duration, with inconsistency as to length, ranging from longer than a month but shorter than a year, to contracts lasting <3 months or only a month (12,36,39,61,62). Insecurity deriving from fixed-term contracts and not knowing if, for how long or when these contracts were going to be renewed, was the major feeling experienced by the workers and described in the qualitative studies (67,70,73,74,81). Another way to consider the meaning of a fixed-term contract is to contrast it with the existence of stable job relationship between employer and employee.…”

“…Number of included studies according to study characteristics. One mixed method, one historical article tive observational studies(12,, while 18 were qualitative studies(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72)(73)(74)(75)(76)(77)(78)(79)(80)(81). Only one article conducted a mixed-methods approach(83) and one was an historical article(82).…”

Mensuração Do Nível De Estresse Ocupacional Percebido Por Atendentes De Telemarketing De Um Contact Center

“…A incerteza toma conta das empresas, e os funcionários passam a ser, cada vez mais, cobrados por metas e resultados mais difíceis de serem alcançados. Nesse contexto, espera-se que o trabalhador seja polivalente, proativo, flexível, resiliente, além de tantas outras características que ele precisa ter para ser considerado "empregável" (COSTA; COSTA, 2018a;BAUMAN, 2001).…”

The Quality of Work Life Scale: Validity Evidence from Brazil and Portugal

“…As such, it is important to evaluate the QWL in these countries, allowing policy makers to provide culturally valid and comparable QWL information for workers in the two countries. It is expected that QWL in Portuguese companies, Triste Fado ("sad fate") as some call it (Costa and Costa 2017), is poor. This may be mainly due to the economic crisis, from which the country is recovering, that have affected deeply the Portuguese economy.…”