Call Centres

Holman, David

doi:10.1002/9780470713365.ch7

Cited by 40 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…As well as the above trends, there has been a significant expansion in developed economies of low-skill service jobs, such as jobs in retail, personal services, and call centers (Holman, 2005). In developing countries there has been an increase in low-skill manufacturing and service jobs, partly fueled by outsourcing from developed economies (Levy, 2005).…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Work Design Influences: A Synthesis of Multilevel Factors that Affect the Design of Jobs

Parker

Broeck

Holman

2017

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165

154

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High quality work design is a key determinant of employee well-being, positive work attitudes, and job/organizational performance. Yet many job incumbents continue to experience deskilled and demotivating work. We argue that there is a need to understand better where work designs come from. We review research that investigates the factors that influence work design, noting that this research is only a small fragment of the work design literature. The research base is also rather disparate, spanning distinct theoretical perspectives according to the level of analysis. To help integrate this literature, we use a framework that summarizes the direct and indirect ways in which work design is shaped by the higher-level external context (global/ international, national and occupational factors), the organizational context, the local work context (work group factors), and individual factors. We highlight two key indirect effects: first, factors affect formal decisionmaking processes via influencing managers' work design-related motivation, knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), and opportunities; and second, factors shape informal and emergent work design processes via influencing employees' work design-related motivation, KSAs and opportunities. By reviewing the literature according to this framework, we set the stage for more comprehensive theoretical development and empirical studies on the factors that influence work design. 3Work Design Influences A Synthesis of Multi-Level Factors that Affect The Design of WorkWork design refers to "the content and organization of one's work tasks, activities, relationships, and responsibilities" (Parker, 2014, p. 662). When work is designed so that it has motivating characteristics like job autonomy and social support, as well as reasonable levels of job demands, multiple positive individual and organizational outcomes arise. A vast amount of research shows that work design affects work stress, job satisfaction, performance, absenteeism, accidents, team innovation, company financial revenue, and more (e.g. see the meta analysis by Humphrey, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007).Yet, despite extensive evidence about the benefits of well-designed work, there are still many poorly designed jobs in both advanced and developing economies. For example, in Europe, Lorenz and Valeyre (2005) reported that one third of workers had jobs that were deskilled or that involved excessive demands. Significant technological and societal change is also affecting work and organizing, yet we know little about how this change might affect people's work design (Parker, 2014). Both of these forces -the continued prevalence of poor quality work designs and the vast change occurring in work -highlight the importance of having a comprehensive, evidence-based understanding of the forces that affect work design.Such an understanding is currently lacking. In most theory and research pertaining to the design of jobs, work design is modeled at the start of a causal chain leading to outcomes via intermediary pr...

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Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Work Design Influences: A Synthesis of Multilevel Factors that Affect the Design of Jobs

Parker

Broeck

Holman

2017

ANNALS

Self Cite

165

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…NRG's call center, like a typical call center, was highly centralized and formalized, restricting autonomous actions on the part of frontline employees (Holman, 2005). The clearest indication of the impact of standardization on autonomy was the use of process maps.…”

Section: Research Context and Informantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proactivity routines: The role of social processes in how employees self-initiate change

2017

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Proactive work behaviors are self-initiated, future-focused actions aimed at bringing about changes to work processes in organizations. Such behaviors occur within the social context of work. The extant literature that has focused on the role of social context for proactivity has focused on social context as an overall input or output of proactivity. However, in this article we argue that the process of engaging in proactive work behavior (proactive goal-striving) may also be a function of the social context in which it occurs. Based on qualitative data from 39 call center employees in an energy-supply company, we find that in a context characterized by standardized work procedures, proactive goal-striving can occur through a proactivity routine – a socially constructed and accepted pattern of action by which employees initiate and achieve changes to work processes, with the support of managers and colleagues. Our findings point to the need to view proactive work behaviors at a higher level of analysis than the individual in order to identify shared routines for engaging in proactivity, as well as how multiple actors coordinate their efforts in the process of achieving individually-generated proactive goals.

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“…Researchers have asked employees to keep diaries in order to investigate a variety of organizational topics including call centre work (Holman, 2005), violations of the psychological contract (Conway and Briner, 2002), mood changes in shift work (Williamson, Gower and Clark, 1994) and well-being at work (Sonnentag, 2001). They are also a popular method for capturing information about work roles.…”

Section: Diary Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, In the UK and many Western societies, most work involves cognitive rather than manual skills. There is also a greater focus on the emotional labour undertaken by service workers (Holman, 2005). Diaries allow researchers to capture role incumbents' perceptions and thoughts about their work and the cognitive skills required.…”

Section: Diary Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work and Organizational Psychology

Rothmann¹,

Cooper

2015

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Call Centres

Cited by 40 publications

References 43 publications

Work Design Influences: A Synthesis of Multilevel Factors that Affect the Design of Jobs

Work Design Influences: A Synthesis of Multilevel Factors that Affect the Design of Jobs

Proactivity routines: The role of social processes in how employees self-initiate change

Work and Organizational Psychology

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