Observed physical working conditions in a sample of call centres in Sweden and their relations to directives, recommendations and operators’ comfort and symptoms

Abstract A survey of physical work conditions was performed in a strategic sample of call centres in Sweden. Extensive observations including measurements of work environment factors took place at 16 companies, involving 156 operators and their workstations. Observed conditions were compared with current directives and recommendations and also with the operators’ ratings of comfort and reported symptoms. Internal and external call centres working in the whole range of task complexity were compared. The air quality and thermal climate in the workplace were mainly satisfactory, but air humidity was low. Sound levels were often high at many workstations and illuminance too low. Glare and reflexions in the VDU-screens were common. The observations indicate that the conditions quite often were out of range of current directives and recommendations for sound working environment. The indoor climate, the air quality, the ambient noise level and the illumination created dissatisfaction of comfort among about 74% the operators. Correlations between the ratings of comfort and the observations were moderate, but most were statistically significant. No significant associations between symptoms (eyes, ears, throat, skin or headache) and the observations were found. Relevance to industry The study provides useful data both for designing call centres and similar offices and for improvement of the physical work environment. It points out which physical factors and environment-related symptoms one should be especially aware of among call centre workers.