Monday, July 14, 2003		Feature

AMID growing opposition to outsourcing technology jobs to Indian firms, the local back office services providers are also battling with a serious issue back home - high attrition levels.

According to a study conducted last year, some of the larger and more established call centres in India are experiencing a 40 per cent attrition rate, compared to the global industry average of 28 per cent.

Although lower than the attrition rates of 70 to 120 per cent in the USA., the situation in India’s money spinning sector is cause for worry. Many employees are quitting because of the odd hours, high stress and the resultant health problems.

Take, for instance, the case of Amosha Lyngdoh, 27, till recently a call centre executive. After two years of tedious yet demanding night shifts spent servicing clients in the USA and irregular food habits, her body gave up.

"I blacked out constantly. My migraine problem got worse and I didn’t feel like eating a thing. I had to quit," Lyngdoh says. This is no isolated case.

Sushmita Krishnan, another call centre executive, says: "We have eight and a half hour shifts. The most stressful are the 9.30 p.m.-6 a.m. and the 4.30 p.m.-2.30 a.m. ones." Besides having to rotate her shift schedules every two months, there is also the tedium and stress associated with the job.

"Once you are logged in, you can’t fool around or take breaks. You have to work continuously with a few short scheduled time-outs to go to the bathroom or grab a quick bite." And there are "performance inspectors" who ensure that there is no laxity. The high stress and irregular hours are taking their toll on many of the mostly just-out-of-college employees. And the only long-term solution they can suggest is to quit.

Achal Bhagat, a psychiatrist with New Delhi-based Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, avers that while these jobs may be lucrative, there is little job satisfaction.

The high attrition rate is also attributed to the fact that most call centre executives do not see their jobs as a career.