title: Working conditions and psychosocial risk factors of employees in French electricity and gas company customer support departments.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little is known about the real impact of working conditions on the health of call center employees. The aim of this article is to describe the working conditions of French electricity and gas company customer service teams, especially those spending more than 75% of their working time handling calls in order to determine their subjective experience of their work and identify situations at risk of psychosocial constraints.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study using a self-completion questionnaire was conducted on a representative sample of 2,000 employees working in customer service centers. The questions focused on the variety of tasks performed, the organization of working time, the physical environment of the workstation, violent situations and psychosocial factors (Job Content Questionnaire). Multivariate statistical analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the wish to leave the sector and with a high level of psychosocial constraints.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women made up 66% of the sample. Despite a high educational level, the average socio-professional level of the employees was relatively low. Although the vast majority of employees had chosen this career (74%), just over half would like to leave. The main factors associated with iso-strain were inadequate breaks (odds ratio (OR) = 2.0), low perceived quality of work (OR = 2.4), high proportion of working time spent handling calls (≥75% of working time: OR = 5.9, between 50 and <75%: OR = 5.2), exposure to violence either internally (often or very often: OR = 3.1) or from customers (often or very often: OR = 1.8) and an unsatisfactory workplace (OR = 2.0).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Employees who spend more than 75% of their working time on the phone cumulate every factor linked with a high level of constraints, but all employees of the EDF and Gaz de France customer service centers are concerned. These workers share many characteristics with other call centers: predominantly female workforce; high educational level; wish to leave this sector despite the initial choice; high level of psychosocial risk factors.
authors.affiliation: SGMC EDF Gaz de France, Paris, France. a.chevalier@invs.sante.fr
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chevalier
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dessery
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Boursier
authors.forename: Marie Catherine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Grizon
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jayet
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reymond
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thiebot
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zeme-Ramirez
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Calvez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004560:Electricity; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D013689:Telephone; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*