Psychological harassment in an outsourced call center located in São Paulo, Brazil

Introduction
Outsourced call centre present in 17 countries, with 75 thousand employees in Brazil, and 4 sites in São Paulo. The aim was to verify the existence and forms of psychological harassment in call centre during health surveillance.

Methods
Case study during 2010-2011, in site B, with 1227 operators; operation was segmented in 29 subsections, 4 chosen for deeper evaluation, focus on operator´s job. Study included: interviews with 14 operators, 13 supervisors, coordinator, sub manager, manager, planning assistant, 3 monitors, 4 occupational health and safety representatives; 10 meetings with 2 reflection groups of 16 operators each; systematic and nonsystematic observations during 300 hours; 2 meetings for validation with operators and 1 with manager; document analysis.

Results
Forms of organizational psychological harassment included: need to ask permission for physiological needs breaks; lack of equity and respect concerning: the liberation of operators for physiological needs breaks, performance appraisal, attribution of tasks, and changes in timetable and work schedules; lack of transparence in rules for promotion; lack of information about changes in procedures, and when on line monitoring was happening; pressure to comply to uninformed changes in procedures; difficult or impossible goals leading to work overload; prohibition to end calls with aggressive clients; lack of support to solve clients´ problems; forbiddance to scream in presence of rats and cockroaches; “motivating” operators with prizes like lollipops; and obligation to dress ridiculously during “motivational events”. Interpersonal psychological harassment included: offenses from clients; public reprimanding and criticizing of operators, public hearing of operators´ calls, publishing the results of performance appraisal, etc. Depression and attempted suicide were reported consequences.

Discussion
Situations of organizational psychological harassment were abundant and stimulated interpersonal psychological harassment. High quantitative organizational aims associated to: great differences in wages between and within jobs, and rules for promotions, prevent solidarity, stimulate individualism and mobbing.