Labour Process Models and Call Centres in Newfoundland and Labrador

To create employment, many peripheral economic areas have sought to attract call centres. However, concerns have been expressed about the nature of work in these call centres. This paper outlines the various labour process models of call centres and then discusses the models in operation in some call centres in St John’s (NL)by drawing on 29 semi-structured interviews with workers and managers, and non-participant observation of the labour process in two centres. No single model adequately describes working conditions everywhere. The labour process and work organization depend on many issues like functional segmentation (inbound or outbound) whether the centre is in-house or outsourced, management strategies and priorities, and local labour market conditions. However, unattractive, stressful and unhealthy working conditions characterize most work settings. Consequently, we argue in support of recruiting only call centres in which the labour process is more autonomous, varied and generally rewarding.