Work-personal life conflict and burnout in contact centers. The moderating role of affective commitment
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2017-0352 |
| Pages | 400-416 |
| Published date | 04 March 2019 |
| Date | 04 March 2019 |
| Author | Daniela Geraldes,Ema Madeira,Vânia Sofia Carvalho,Maria José Chambel |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
Work-personal life conflict
and burnout in contact centers
The moderating role of affective commitment
Daniela Geraldes and Ema Madeira
Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Vânia Sofia Carvalho
University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, and
Maria José Chambel
Department of Human Resources, Work and Organizational Psychology,
Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moderating role of affective commitment in the
relationship between work-personal life conflict (WPLC) and burnout in the contact center environment.
Design/methodology/approach –Data were obtainedthrough the participation of a sampleof Portuguese
employees(n¼2,055) of a large companyin the contact centersector. Data were analyzedusing the Processtool.
Findings –The results support the existence of a positive relationship between both dimensions of WPLC
(i.e. time and strain) and burnout (i.e. exhaustion and cynicism). Moreover, the study confirms that the
affective commitment moderates the relationship between both dimensions of WPLC and cynicism, buffering
these relationships.
Research limitations/implications –The cross-sectional design and the reliance on self-report measures
are the main limitations of this study, although no causality was claimed and method biases were controlled.
Practical implications –Contact center managers should develop human resources practices that aid
employees to conciliate work and life. Furthermore, these work-life balance practices should be used together
with high involvement human resources practices that promote employees’affective commitment.
Originality/value –This study provides evidence for the need to reconceptualize the traditional
work-family conflict, stressing the importance of considering the interference between domains of life,
especially in sectors that tend to have young employees.
Keywords Quantitative, Affective commitment, Burnout, Contact center, Work-personal life
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Economic globalization, technological development and the increasing importance of the
service sector (Castanheira and Chambel, 2010) has resulted in profound changes, whereby
contact centers have become the main point of customer contact (Russell, 2008).
Their prevalence in the last two decades has been investigated from two perspectives.
On the one hand, organizations benefit from this technological innovation, as it reduces
associated costs and improves customer service (Bakker et al., 2003). On the other hand,
there has been growing concern with regard to quality of life in the workplace (Hannif et al.,
2008), and it is believed that the contact center sector has a negative impact on the
well-being of its workforce (Holman, 2002). For contact center professionals working
continuously and chronically under the influence of diverse stressors, burnout may arise as
a result of their work circumstances (Castanheira and Chambel, 2010; Deery et al., 2002;
Holman, 2002; Sprigg and Jackson, 2006).
Furthermore, some studies have attempted to demonstrate that along with professional
requirements, work-family conflict (WFC) is part of these workers’reality, contributing
significantly to the experience of burnout (Mellor et al., 2015). Bearing in mind the
characteristic age group of this sector (APCC, 2017), the present study seeks to explore the
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 2, 2019
pp. 400-416
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-11-2017-0352
Received 20 November 2017
Revised 16 February 2018
10 May 2018
27 May 2018
Accepted 4 June 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
400
PR
48,2
conflict between work and personal life as well as its relationship with burnout, addressing
the need to consider other factors beyond the role of the family (Frone, 2003). Thus, this
study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the work-personal life conflict (WPLC)
construct in contact center employees, relating it to burnout. Moreover, by exploring the role
that organizational context may have on the relationship between the demands of work and
the well-being of workers, we analyze the moderating role of affective commitment (Meyer
and Maltin, 2010). In addition to consolidating the research conducted regarding this sector
in Portugal, this study attempts to address some of the limitations identified in the literature.
First, as mentioned above, we address a concern with regard to broadening the scope of the
concept of WFC in order to devise an approach that considers the employees’personal
context, which undoubtedly includes other areas alongside family. In addition, given the
undeniably growing concern regarding the impact of work on the lives of individuals,
we noted that existing research had not considered the moderating role of affective
commitment in this relationship. Indeed, by demonstrating that this factor can mitigate the
relationship between WPLC and burnout, it is possible to validate the importance of
implementing human resources practices, which by covering a broader range of employees
may go beyond so-called family (person)-friendly practices (Poelmans et al., 2009) and
enhance the development of affective commitment (Whitener, 2001).
Theoretical framework
Burnout in contact centers
The concept of burnout, articulated in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger (Schaufeli and
Buunk, 2003), as a work-related syndrome of stress and, specifically in the service sector, is
thought to occurs when the employee is no longer able to adequately manage relationships
with his/her clients (Dormann and Zapf, 2004). Burnout is a multidimensional construct with
exhaustion and cynicism as core dimensions (Llorens et al., 2007). The exhaustion
component refers to feelings of burning out emotional and physical resources, while
cynicism refers to interpersonal distance and the loss of cognitive or emotional involvement
with work (Maslach et al., 2008). Burnout differs from other common dimensions, such as
stress, in that it relates to a cumulative and prolonged reaction to occupational stressors,
which tends to be stable over time (Leiter and Maslach, 2003). This syndrome arises as a
response to workplace settings characterized by substantial work requirements (Taris and
Schaufeli, 2016). In fact, contexts characterized by high demands and few work resources
arise as burnout facilitators (Demerouti et al., 2001; Hu et al., 2011).
Returning to the context of contact centers, various investigations have postulated
burnout as a syndrome characteristic of this work setting (e.g. Deery et al., 2002; Mellor et al.,
2015; Rod and Ashill, 2013). These findings have been verified in Portugal (Castanheira and
Chambel, 2010), where it was shown that contact center workers are among the customer
service workers with the highest levels of burnout, surpassing those in the helping
professions and those with high occupational risk (Chambel and Castanheira, 2010). Call
center work as being highly demanding and having low control and these job characteristics
relates to high strain (Karasek, 1989). In fact, in their daily work, call center operators can be
required to answer or make many calls per hour, but typically, these calls are continuously
distributed with little control over when and with whom speaks (Holman, 2003). Moreover,
workers also need to present emotions as regulated by the organization to ensure that create
the desired “state of mind”in the customer to influence his/her perceptions, behaviors and
attitudes (Zapf et al., 2003). Thus, the emotional dissonance that consists of expressing the
prescribed emotions that differ from the ones the worker feels is a work-related emotional
demand that also contributes to explain workers’burnout (Bakker et al., 2003).
Beyond the specific stressors inherent to the function, other more general areas, such as
WFC, have also been identified as burnout enhancers (Mellor et al., 2015).
401
Moderating
role of affective
commitment
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