Working for Call Centers: Benefits and Disadvantages
Call centers have established a whole new culture for the people working for these BPO companies. Hailed as the sunshine industry of the Philippines, call centers and the rest of the BPO industry have attracted thousands of Filipino employees. Call centers are considered as a savior of the economy; the unemployment rate has definitely lessened when call centers started to operate in the country.
The most obvious benefit of working for call centers is obvious: good money. Salaries for new graduates usually start at PHP15, 000. For those with previous experiences, the pay can go as high as PHP35, 000 – and that’s just for the average Joe who takes calls. Employees who hold supervisory or managerial positions earn a lot more. Aside from their basic salary, those who get assigned to the night shift get night differential pay. This is definitely a lot more than what other employees get from their day jobs.
Call center employment also means great benefits galore. On top of the high pay that they are receiving, employees get other benefits such as HMO coverage and allowances (for rice, transportation, clothing and sometimes even for gas).
Now the disadvantages. Working at night can be a bitch. It’s hard enough changing your body clock to deal with the graveyard schedule, but you also have to deal with the lack of social life or the opportunity to do errands during the day because you are already asleep by the time the sun is bright and shining. Plus, sustaining a night shift schedule can pose serious consequences to your health.
And yes, it can get tiring answering calls all the time. Call center employees often complain of “brain drain” because of the monotonous nature of their job.
This is why call centers constantly try to top the competition when it comes to employee benefits packages. They try to compensate for the obvious downsides. Employers will give bonuses to add to the hefty amount of money that an employee is already earning. They will also provide various means of recreation for employees. Most call center offices have billiard tables, computer game stations and sleeping lounges where employees can relax during their breaks. Management also organizes frequent team outings to give employees a chance to take a break from the monotony of their work.
Pros and cons aside, it is clear that call centers are here to stay in the Philippines. It will provide employment for those who are having difficulties getting jobs in other fields. Whether it will prove beneficial or detrimental to the culture of young Pinoy workers is yet to be seen.
an article of working for call centers: benefits and disadvantages is a nice article. at least now i know the benefits of being a call center agent. and also its advantages.
Hi. Thanx for this site I had some ideas oof the pros and cons of this business. This would be useful for my undergrad Psychology Thesis in Ateneo de Naga Univ. hmmm, I’m studying about call center agent’s perceived equity, level of flow, level of burnout and basic psych need satsifaction..
Thanks again.
Puta!! walang kwenta call center na yan mga di lang nakatapos karapat dapat na nandyan
Thanks for your informative message, i’m planning to work at call center but there’s some hear say like, its such a difficult job, but its okay as long as i can earn money, at this days what jobs will pay you 15k above.
Ok thanks again
i am working in a call center… it pays a lot but i am missing a lot of my social life… not only that, im always stressed, deppresed and pressured. PLEASE, if you’re a graduate, even if you’re not…. as much as you could, please dont be lured by call center compensation and benefits
I am a call center agent, and all statements written above are true, and yes, the high paying salary and good benefits enticed me to apply and work there, but if I could find an alternative job which matches what I am earning now, I would definitely quit. I miss my social life, and I wanna sleep at night.
ive been in this industry for 8 years now…all those disadvantages that was mentioned will hurt you during your first two years, and will definitely fade as years pass by.
Im happy, I love my job.
It feed my family with this job and it’s worth. I love this job since I earned a lot. It need intelegence in IT and dedication it is not an easy job. It improved my vocavulary.
well i have experiece in call center its great but you need to be able to do good and be having a night shift schedule that the most difficult task that i need to be able to train well because call center are the one which gave us more stress in life but what we need is to be able to give our best shot in order for us to be in a good position and be able to recoznize the benefits of our working in call center
Puta!! walang kwenta call center na yan mga di lang nakatapos karapat dapat na nandyan>>> This comments are usually coming from those people who doesn’t know what life it is in call center. To be an agent, it takes Intelligence, Health endurance and Courage.