The Call Centre Workstation

Occupational Health & Safety Resource Kit.
Proudly brought to you by CEPU: NSW Telcommunications & Services Division

installation of a screen with matt or light diffusing surfaces.
cover the VDU screen with a light diffusing surface or anti-glare screen.
negative contrast screen (dark characters on light background) will reduce the influence of these reflections.

Eye discomfort when using a bright screen can be reduced by making the following adjustments:

turn the screen brightness down to a comfortable level
look away into the distance in order to rest the eyes for a short while every ten minutes or so
change the text and background colours; recommended are black characters on white or yellow background, or yellow on black, white on black, white on blue and green on white. Avoid red and green and yellow on white.

Headsets: Lightweight adjustable headsets with a volume control should be provided for staff on continuous keyboard/telephone operation.

Make employers responsible

Posture during keying: Good posture is essential for all keyboard operators. It comprises a natural and relaxed position, providing opportunity for movement and from which the operator can assume a number of alternative positions. It is not a single, rigidly defined position.

Typing technique: Typing is a physical activity and using a keyboard requires skill, hence the need to learn correct typing technique. Unskilled ('hunt and peck') typists are particularly at risk of Occupational Overuse Syndrome because they:

often use only one or two fingers which may overload the finger tendons;
are constantly looking from keyboard to screen to keyboard, which may strain neck muscles;
often adopt a tense posture (wrists bent back and fingers 'poised to strike').

Given the importance of learning correct typing technique employers should ensure that untrained staff receive appropriate training

Speed of keying: The efficiency and speed of modern computers makes it possible for a skilled

operator to type extremely quickly. This capability, reinforced by workload pressures, means the potential exists for operators to key at speeds which may cause or contribute to Occupational Overuse Syndrome.

The role of the repetitive movement in injury is not fully understood, but is believed to interfere with the lubrication capacity of tendons, and the ability of muscle to receive sufficient oxygen supplies. Hence 10,000 - 12,000 keystrokes per hour is considered an acceptable standard.

Given the importance of learning correct typing technique employers should ensure that untrained staff receive appropriate training.

Length of time on the keyboard: It is recommended that operators avoid more than four hours a day on keyboard duties and no longer than 45 minutes per hour without a postural/stretching break. Employees newly engaged in keyboard work and staff returning from an absence of two or more weeks, need a period of adjustment. The adjustment may be achieved through reduced work rates, or provision of alternate duties with gradual re-introduction to keyboard work.

Jobs should be designed and organised so that either:

SBE tasks can be interspersed with non SBE/ keyboard tasks, or
SBE tasks can be rotated amongst several staff (task/job sharing).

It is not the change of task, but the change to using different movements and postures that is important. The whole purpose of task variety is to give the overloaded structures a necessary break.

Stressful working conditions: Stress is a psychological and physiological reaction to some form of pressure being applied to the individual. The amount of workplace pressure that an individual can manage varies from person to person. The level of stress an individual feels is determined by the way they respond to a particular situation.

For call centre employees, stressful working conditions may be the result of: meeting performance targets, conduct of performance monitoring, performing highly repetitive work with little variety, lack of job control or shiftwork.