Experiencing depersonalised bullying: a study of Indian call-centre agents

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Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Volume 3, Issue 1

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Experiencing depersonalised bullying: a study of Indian call-centre agents

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Author(s): Premilla D'Cruz , Ernesto Noronha

Publication date (Print): Summer 2009

Journal: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

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Abstract

This article uses the concept of depersonalized bullying to explain the way in which call-centre agents employed in international call centres in Mumbai and Bangalore, India experience their work as an oppressive regime. The characteristics of this bullying regime can be attributed to the service level agreement between employers and clients which determines organisational practices. Call-centre agents' professional identities and material gains facilitate their acceptance of their tough work conditions, causing them to participate in their own oppression. As well as clarifying the concept of depersonalised bullying, the article highlights the critical role of capitalist labour relations in workplace bullying, allowing for a contextualised and politicised understanding to emerge.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): workorgalaboglob

Title: Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 1745641X

ISSN (Electronic): 17456428

Publication date (Print): Summer 2009

Volume: 3

Issue: 1

Pages: 26-46

Article

Publisher ID: workorgalaboglob.3.1.0026

DOI: 10.13169/workorgalaboglob.3.1.0026

SO-VID: b3ca1757-b07a-4c54-91bc-134e3d5f0bd5

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History

ScienceOpen disciplines: Sociology,Labor law,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics

References

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Alvesson, M. & S. Deetz (1996) ‘Critical theory and post-modernism’ in S.R. Clegg & C. Hardy (eds) Studying organisations , London: Sage:191–217
Alvesson, M. & H. Willmott (2002) ‘Identity regulation as organisational control: Producing the appropriate individual’, Journal of Management Studies , Vol 39:619–644
Bain, P. & P. Taylor (2000) ‘Entrapped by the “electronic panopticon”? Worker resistance in the call centre’, New Technology, Work and Employment , Vol 15:2–18
Batt, R. & L. Moynihan (2002) ‘The viability of alternative call centre models’, Human Resource Management Journal , Vol 12:14–34
D'Cruz, P. & E. Noronha (2008) ‘Doing emotional labour: The experiences of Indian call centre agents’, Global Business Review , Vol 9:131–147
Einarsen, S. (1999) ‘The nature and causes of bullying’, International Journal of Manpower , Vol 20:16–27
Einarsen, S., H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C.L. Cooper (2003) ‘The concept of bullying at work: The European tradition’ in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. L. Cooper (eds) Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace , London and New York: Taylor & Francis:3–30
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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Alvesson, M. (2001) ‘Knowledge work: Ambiguity, image and identity’, Human Relations , Vol 54:863–886

[2] Alvesson, M. & S. Deetz (1996) ‘Critical theory and post-modernism’ in S.R. Clegg & C. Hardy (eds) Studying organisations , London: Sage:191–217

[3] Alvesson, M. & H. Willmott (2002) ‘Identity regulation as organisational control: Producing the appropriate individual’, Journal of Management Studies , Vol 39:619–644

[4] Bain, P. & P. Taylor (2000) ‘Entrapped by the “electronic panopticon”? Worker resistance in the call centre’, New Technology, Work and Employment , Vol 15:2–18

[5] Batt, R. & L. Moynihan (2002) ‘The viability of alternative call centre models’, Human Resource Management Journal , Vol 12:14–34

[6] D'Cruz, P. & E. Noronha (2008) ‘Doing emotional labour: The experiences of Indian call centre agents’, Global Business Review , Vol 9:131–147

[7] Einarsen, S. (1999) ‘The nature and causes of bullying’, International Journal of Manpower , Vol 20:16–27

[8] Einarsen, S., H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C.L. Cooper (2003) ‘The concept of bullying at work: The European tradition’ in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. L. Cooper (eds) Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace , London and New York: Taylor & Francis:3–30

[9] Einarsen, S., H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C.L. Cooper (2005) ‘Workplace bullying: Individual pathology or organisational culture?’ in V. Bowie, B.S. Fisher & C.L. Cooper (eds) Workplace violence: Issues, trends, strategies , Devon: Willian:229–247

[10] Frenkel, S., M. Korczynski, K. Shire & M. Tam (1998) ‘Beyond bureaucracy: Work organisation in call centres’, International Journal of Human Resource Management , Vol 9:957–979

[11] Hatch, M.J. & A.L. Cunliffe (2006) Organisation theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives , New York: Oxford University Press

[12] Hoel, H. & D. Beale (2006) ‘Workplace bullying, psychological perspectives and industrial relations: Towards a contextualised and interdisciplinary approach’, British Journal of Industrial Relations , Vol 44:239–262

[13] Hoel, H. & D. Salin (2003) ‘Organisational antecedents of workplace bullying’ in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. L. Cooper (eds) Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace , London and New York: Taylor & Francis:203–218

[14] Ironside, M. & R. Seifert (2003) ‘Tackling bullying in the workplace: The collective dimension’, in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. L. Cooper (eds) Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace , London and New York: Taylor & Francis:383–398

[15] Keashly, L. & S. Harvey (2006) ‘Workplace emotional abuse’ in E.K. Kelloway, J. Barling & J.J. Hurrell (eds) Handbook of workplace violence , California: Sage:95–120

[16] Keashly, L. & K. Jagatic (2003) ‘By any other name: American perspectives on workplace bullying’ in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. L. Cooper (eds) Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace , London and New York: Taylor & Francis:31–61

[17] Knights, D. & D. McCabe (1998) ‘What happens when the phone goes wild?: Staff, stress and spaces for escape in a BPR telephone banking work regime’, Journal of Management Studies , Vol 35:63–94

[18] Legge, K. (2006) ‘Human resource management’ in S. Ackroyd, R. Batt, P. Thompson & P.S. Tolbert (eds) Oxford handbook of work and organisation , Oxford: Oxford University Press:220–241

[19] Liefooghe, A.P.D. & K. Mackenzie Davey (2001) ‘Accounts of workplace bullying: The role of the organisation’, European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology , Vol 10:375–392

[20] Lewis, D. & C. Rayner (2003) ‘Bullying and human resource management: A wolf in sheep's clothing?’ in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf & C. L. Cooper (eds) Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace , London and New York: Taylor & Francis:370–382

[21] McPhail, B. (2002) ‘What is on the line in call centre studies?’ Accessed on August 10, 2005 from http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/research/iprp/publications/mcphail-cc.pdf

[22] Miles, M.S. & A.M. Huberman (1994) Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods , California: Sage

[23] Mirchandani, K. (2003) ‘Making Americans: Transnational call centre work in India’, unpublished paper. Accessed on August 31, 2008 from http://merlin.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/ejrot/cmsconference/2003/proceedings/postcolonial/Mirchandani.pdf.

[24] Mullholland, K. (1999) ‘Back to the future: A call centre and new forms of direct control’, paper presented at the 17th Annual International Labour Process Conference, March 29–31, 1999, School of Management, Royal Holloway: University of London

[25] Mullholland, K. (2002) ‘Gender, emotional labour and teamworking in a call centre’, Personnel Review , Vol 31: 283–303

[26] NASSCOM (2005) Strategic Review 2005 , New Delhi: NASSCOM

[27] NASSCOM (2006) Strategic Review 2006 , New Delhi: NASSCOM

[28] NASSCOM (2007) Strategic Review 2007 , New Delhi: NASSCOM

[29] NASSCOM-McKinsey (2005) Extending India's leadership of the global IT and BPO industries , New Delhi: NASSCOM-McKinsey

[30] Noronha, E. & P. D'Cruz (2009) Employee identity in Indian call centres: The notion of professionalism , New Delhi: Sage

[31] Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative evaluation and research methods , California: Sage

[32] Peetz, D. (2002) ‘Decollectivist strategies in Oceania’, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations , Vol 57:252–281

[33] Poster, W. (2007) ‘Who's on the line? Indian call centre agents pose as Americans for US outsourced firms’, Industrial Relations , Vol 46:271–304

[34] Ramesh, B. (2004) ‘Cybercoolies in BPOs’, Economic and Political Weekly , Vol 39:492–497

[35] Rayner, C., M. Sheehan & M. Barker (1999) Bullying at work (1998 research update conference proceedings) , Stafford: Stafford University

[36] Sturdy, A. & S. Fineman (2001) ‘Struggles for the control of affect: Resistance as politics and emotion’ in A. Sturdy, A. Gruglis & H. Willmott (eds) Customer service, empowerment and entrapment , London: Palgrave

[37] Taylor, P. & P. Bain (1999) ‘An assembly line in the head: Work and employment relations in the call centre’, Industrial Relations Journal , Vol 30:101–117

[38] Taylor, P. & P. Bain (2005) ‘India calling to the faraway towns: The call centre labour process and globalisation’, Work, Employment and Society , Vol 19:261–282

[39] Taylor, P. & P. Bain (2006) An investigation into the offshoring of financial services business processes , Glasgow: University of Strathclyde

[40] Tracy, S.J., P. Lutgen-Sandvik & J.K. Alberts (2006) ‘Nightmares, demons and slaves: Exploring the painful metaphors of workplace bullying’, Management Communication Quarterly , Vol 20:148–185

[41] van Manen, M. (1998) Researching lived experience , Canada: Althouse