Unite Union is questioning a recent push for call centre workers to return to the office due to health and safety concerns.
Customer Contact Network New Zealand (CCNNZ) recently issued a release urging staff to return to the office, claiming it is becoming "more apparent that the work-from-home model is unhealthy for staff and for business".
CCNNZ CEO Elias Kanaris said contact centre workers have to contend with abuse, stress and challenging situations and being at home means they cannot access the support they need.
"Contact centre staff working from home are isolated and lack mutual support that comes from working next to colleagues who are experiencing the same challenges. You can't just raise your hand when you need supervisor assistance, or vent and decompress with other people around you," Kanaris said.
"Employers are responsible for keeping staff safe, which is very difficult when people are working remotely. Remote working may save costs for companies and make it easier to recruit, but the disadvantages outweigh the cost savings."
He added that a 2023 report by CCNNZ found the number of call centre staff working from home is declining with only 10 percent working remotely full-time.
The same report found 86 percent of contact centre staff work from home at least one day a week.
"This trend is diminishing. Frontline employees, who constitute a significant portion of the workforce, are now spending more time in the office."
Kanaris said management is also increasingly working from the office and the data suggests a hybrid approach is becoming the norm.
"This model supports not only productivity but also ensures staff have access to direct support and team interaction, which is less feasible remotely."
Unite Union national secretary John Crocker said while there is some sense to a hybrid work approach, simply getting call centre workers back into the office doesn't solve issues around the abuse they face.
"It makes sense in theory but we're not sure that is the reality. For years we have been campaigning for improved health and safety around mental health from abusive customers because we've needed to because the support has been insufficient," Crocker said.
"To suggest that it's magically perfect now and people are much safer in the office, we don't really buy that enough has been done in that space to actually hold up that argument."
He said it's also missing the other side of things and actually workers with good home environments might be better supported.
"Just to say it's better this way is not necessarily the case. Also, a lot of those support services can be done remotely. Rather than sitting in an office and talking to a supervisor about a difficult call they have had, they might want to go on their porch and call their supervisor."
Crocker said if call centres really want to improve workers' mental health they need to stop expecting them to put up with abuse in the first place.
"It should be much easier for call centre workers to end a call earlier with a customer who is causing them harm. We think the dial is too far towards keeping the person on the line and call centre worker absorbing it."
Crocker said he can understand why support is necessary for call centre workers but feels the release is lacking nuance and feels like a convenient excuse to force workers back into the office.
