THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT

Work at the call centres appears plush and well paid. But scratch the surface and look what emerges: stress, stagnation and a string of health problems. Jangveer Singh in Bangalore looks at the Indian BPO industry. The middle class loves it for the money and the better life it brings. Yet, it worries if there’s a future beyond the call centres for the well-heeled ‘cyber coolies’

NO amount of training could fully prepare Arun S to deal with Americans. Confident that he could speak in an American accent and was doing a job he was trained for, Arun did not realise what his foreign clients thought about him when he put on a fake accent to pass off as a fellow national while taking their calls sitting in a call centre in Bangalore.

It was only when he was told "sucker get your accent right" and abused did he realise how Americans felt at being ‘Bangalored’. However Arun can empathise with those who have lost their jobs to him and his ilk in India by talking about how much he himself values his job. "I come from a lower middle class family and the Rs 20,000 I earn has helped me live on my own. I would feel the same way if someone tried to take away my job," he adds.

But all this has come at a price. Arun is 28 years old but is already visiting a physiotherapist on weekends. "I have been diagnosed with Repetitive Stress Syndrome (RSS) due to which I suffer blackouts and pain around the neck area." Arun is going ahead with the physiotherapy sessions and is hoping they will work because he just cannot afford to kick his job. A graduate with no other qualification, he would find it almost impossible to get the same kind of remuneration elsewhere.

Is the Indian BPO industry producing cyber coolies who have no future other than the call centre? Or is the call centre industry liberating the middle and the lower middle class like never before?

It is a bit of both, but more of the latter than the former. Young graduates virtually work as "cyber coolies" doing low-end jobs under constant surveillance and pressure. Also in many cases their job profile does little justice to the education they may have received and they become ill-equipped for other professions when they leave after a few years. However, it is true that the BPO industry alone offers graduates a job with dignity.

Working in a call centre is a monetarily rewarding life but it can also be stifling. Visits to local call centres reveal that the monotony of work is disguised by creating a fun atmosphere in the office with the introduction of cafes, and the facility to play carom, table tennis, etc. Call centres even have Fun Officers on the staff who measure the fun quotient enjoyed by employees.

Incidentally, fun is ‘compulsory’ at call centres. That means if the team is going out for a movie, it becomes mandatory for all members to see it even thought they might have already seen it or are not interested in watching it. To be considered a good team player, you have to go along with the rest. Opting out of team fun activities could mean opting out of the job. Though youngsters mostly enjoy the fun quotient, it can be a drag for the newly married or those with children.

Call centre managements say a visit to their offices is all you need to know about working conditions in the BPO industry. The offices are far superior to those in other areas of Indian industry. The staff is provided with free meals and free pick-up facility from home. They have a clear-cut career graph: fresh recruits get Rs 10,000 – 12,000, those with two years of experience about Rs 15,000 and those with three or four years in office get Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000 as team leaders.

Call centre employees themselves are largely satisfied with their jobs. Those who are not are investing money earned by them in part-time management or some other professional course. Sindhu, an employee at a call centre, says she gets paid more as a graduate than an engineer would get on her first job. She’s fine with night shifts as, she says, they are better than rotating shifts which are present in many manufacturing industries. When questioned about the surveillance, she admits the recent cases of data theft have only reinforced the need for surveillance to protect intellectual property rights of clients.

G Vasuki, another youngster, says he would like to draw a parallel with his father before passing judgement on call centres. He said his father, who started off as a steno, earned at the end of his 30-year career what he is now getting after three years on the job. As long as call centres answer the dream of a better future for people like Vasuki, they will continue to thrive, never mind the attendant problems.