Domingo-Cabarrubias 81 employees experienced considerable job strain (Deery et al. 2010). Customer queries and complaints tended to peak after invoices were dispatched and special offers on telephonic and internet products often coincided with higher call volumes. Moreover, the company’s range of products and services changed rapidly, pricing policies were regularly revised and information systems were constantly upgraded. New information had to be read and absorbed rapidly to ensure a high standard of customer service. Similarly, investigation on Indian call center labor process by Taylor and Bain (2005) revealed that agents experienced pressure due to extreme monitoring of their performance. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) based on contracts between third-party providers and clients prescribe quantitative measures (including call volumes, abandonment rates, call-handling times) and specific qualitative criteria. Both forms are strictly enforced in India - for example, contractual requirements dictate that agents adhere rigidly to scripts. Agents experience this as demanding, pressurized and frequently stressful. Pico (2006) has also earlier asserted that the monitoring for high service quality coupled with the pressure to attain high output targets have been identified as source of stress and high levels of dissatisfaction among employees. While women and men workers may be similarly affected by the same stringent monitoring, it is important to note here Belt et al.’s observation that the work was least routinized, and monitoring and control practices least stringently used in the technical support roles in the computer sevices call centers, where males made up majority of employees. Besides, women tend to be doubly affected by stress due to her other burdens at home. Taylor and Bain (2005) also cite temperature and environmental conditions among the concerns of call center workers. Buildings are sealed and temperature, air conditioning and humidity are controlled. This same situation is experienced by Filipino call center workers. Ofreneo at al. (2007) described the weather conditions in the call center as “very cold inside but hot outside,” adding that this deadly combination produces all kinds of health and safety problems, such as voice problems (dry, itchy

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