Barely a km away from home and at 3:30 am on a cold January morning, Shweta Gupta informs her mother of her impending arrival on the phone. She has just finished her shift at a leading third party call-center and is returning home. It’s just been one of those long night once again. Shashi, her mother has to move awkwardly out of her warm bed and let her young daughter in, and then sit with her while Shweta has dinner and talks about her night at work.

Does this routine disturbance in sleep affect her in any way? "It does. But I have adjusted to it now. I catch up with my sleep during daytime these days," says Shashi, much like her daughter does.

It is a routine that thousands of mothers around the country are getting used to. But it is a minor change in lifestyle, compared to what the approximately 2 lakh, young and well-educated people working in these call-centers have to routinely go through.

And, the fallout is turning out to be far from happy. Working at night is already beginning to take a heavy toll on their family and social life and also has the potential to severely impair their health.

"I meet my father only once a week. In fact, he calls me up daily to find out how I’m doing," says Shweta. Agrees Mudita, a 26-year-old agent. "Life has changed upside down, and our social circle is now limited to interaction with colleagues and peers at office."

So, would they take a similar job with normal daytime working hours, but at a 20% cut in salary? The answer is a non-commital yes, which in a way exemplifies the state of affairs in the business.

In the recent DQ-IDC BPO employee satisfaction survey, a staggering 35% of respondents said they are likely to leave because they cannot handle the schedule (for details, see Dataquest, September 30, 2003 issue).

Is there really a problem with the industry at large? "Night shifts are not new—they have been there in manufacturing, hotels and tourism, transport and aviation and some other industries, albeit in lower numbers. It is only now that due to a large number of people involved in call-centers, there is an increased degree of concern about working at nights," avers S Varadarajan, VP–talent engagement and development at Wipro Spectramind.

The survey also threw up something else–money remains the biggest reason why most people join call centers. 45% of all respondents across the industry said they joined up for the money, with another 42% saying they would most likely leave for better opportunities (read money) elsewhere.

However, most of these people are increasingly finding themselves helplessly caught in their own little world– in a different time warp. While most agree that the hefty pay packets were a big lure, it also was reason enough for staying put in the industry. "There is no doubt a feeling of helplessness, of being caught in a vicious circle," says Dr Jitendra Nagpal of Vimhans Hospital in Delhi, who, on an average, consults one call center case–of a burnt-out call-center employee– every week.

But then, the sheer economics of the business undermines health and lifestyle concerns. The Indian BPO industry is expected to gross $4 billion in revenues this year itself. "We must not forget that BPO industry could be a major driver of India’s economic growth in next two-three years," says Anirudh Limaye, VP-HR at Daksh eServices. Where then should one look for a solution?

No Time for Friends
Says Prakash, 22, working in a leading BPO company in Gurgaon, he is struggling to keep his relationship intact with friends outside his office. "Earlier they used to call and ask me for going out to movies and restaurants. After my repeated refusals, now they just don’t call me anymore." He tried to get along at times by cutting out on his sleep during daytime. "But then, I was not able to give my 100% at office and work suffered," he says.

Others, however, do not seem to mind the downsides of the job. "I often sleep for 5-6 hours, and therefore can go out with my friends," says Pragati. She also finds it easy to meet her friends during two off-days per week, "thanks to that, my social life is more or less normal".

However, things go awry with the demands of a special project–which mean longer hours. "There are some seasonal projects where we have to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week," says Prakash. "Long hours are not unusual, and since they happen at nights, it means we are left with no choice but to sleep through the day", laments Mudita. "I miss sleeping at nights, it is almost a luxury for us now," says Shweta.

"Social life certainly gets upset for these people (because of night-shifts), and this is primarily because of our dependence on US business. The scenario could be vastly different if we could have clients from different parts of the globe," points out Limaye.

Health Hazard
Working at nights is a challenge—adjusting the biological clock to a different time zone is a major cause health-related problems. The need to stay awake throughout the night, coupled with a largely monotonous job, is driving many young people to high-levels of nicotine and caffeine consumption.

"Long hours are the order of the day in all competitive businesses these days. However, putting hours at nights can no doubt take its toll on health. But there are ways to mitigate or even strike out such risks by learning to do what you otherwise do, if you were to keep a normal cycle," says Limaye. "Eating well, doing physical exercises, taking required amount of rest, all of this is possible. You just have to discipline yourself to achieve this." But that is probably expecting too much of this vulnerable group of 18-25 year olds, he admits.

In the BPO employee satisfaction survey, around 27% employees admitted they would leave either because of work stress or the sheer physical strain that was too much to handle. Even work related ailments are a reality—sleeping disorders, digestive system disorders and eyesight problems are widely prevalent.

Realizing the problem, BPO companies have their own stress-busters in place—many of them provide facilities for recreation and doing small physical workouts. Some like Wipro Spectramind have full-sized gymnasiums in place. But in a job where time is the most critical resource, smoking a cigarette is preferred over playing a full-length game of table tennis.

On their part, organizations are also sensitive to the health needs of their employees. "Taking a routine break is important. If a person fails to take his break, his supervisor is held responsible and questioned by his superior," says Varadarajan.

And, there’s another worry. For many of these 18-25 year-olds, who are also studying and taking classes during the daytime, the stress is even higher. There is no dearth of such people, given the age profile of call-center employees. A typical day of 24 hours then means a minimum of 18 hours work, 10-12 hours in office and the rest in college or the library.

But whether or not this is a reason for increased stress is debatable. Says Varadarajan, "We often grossly underestimate the abilities of these young people. They have a drive to excel and they are willing to work hard and stretch themselves for it." Nagpal also feels that employees need to be sensitive to their individual body needs and learn to ignore peer pressure.

A Zero-sum Game
Night shifts are the very foundations on which the BPO industry is thriving. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of solutions to the problems of these young back-office soldiiers. "No doubt their social life gets upset and there is only so much we can do to help our people regain it. But we try and offset this loss by making our work environment as friendly and enjoyable as possible," says Limaye. And Varadarajan agrees.

Most organizations have routine parties on campus and social bonding events within the team is highly encouraged. They are doing everything they can to make a call-center a fun place to work in, from hosting pani-puri eating contests to taking employees to offsite picnics. Indoor games like table tennis, pool and carrom are must-haves. "The atmosphere is very much like a college, even our breaks are like those between periods," says Anurag a 21-year-old just out of college and just two-months into the business.

Shorter shifts of 3-4 hours duration, like one from 11 to 3 at night could be another alternative. But Limaye is quick to point out the disadvantages. "We have experimented with shorter shifts, and we have noticed that the productivity dips where people work for fewer hours. Besides, most agents in big metros like Delhi/Gurgaon hate the idea of commuting for close to three hours, for a shift that lasts only four hours," says Limaye. But the idea makes a lot of sense for people living close to the office, as also for BPOs located in smaller towns.

Perhaps the case of Army could provide some answers. "With all the job-related stress and months of staying away from family, you rarely find a soldier who is burnt-out or does not have a smile on his face," says Nagpal. That is because of excellent people-management systems and processes in place, "which take care of every soldier in a holistic way". Now if only a way was found to adapt some of these processes for the BPO industry, the looming darkness could again make way for bright sunny days.

Rishi Seth in New Delhi

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