Marriage, sex, and the call center life

Call centers have blossomed nationwide.  Majority of the people who work in call centers have to work at night.  If you are naturally a night owl, that’s actually a big plus because you could channel your energy to a job that actually pays well. If you are not designed to be up till the wee hours of the morning, there are bound to be immediate effects on your productivity at work. I am most concerned about the effects of such a schedule on married couples. Today, I will share with you the findings of a study made by Myla Lee-Tolentino, as recommended to me by professor Dr. Carolyn Ronquillo, Phd. The study is entitled “The Effects of Call Center Shiftwork on Marital Relationships.” It was submitted by Myla as part of her requirements for her degree in Master of Family Life and Child Development at UP in May 2008.  

Tolentino sought to determine the quality of married relationships of wives who work in call centers, particularly in the area of their happiness and disagreements at home. The researcher assumed that there was no relationship between shiftwork and relationships of married couples. The study tried to find out the effects of work schedule on the quality of relationship among couples working in a 24-hour environment.Through a sampling approach, the researcher gave out questionnaires to 47 wives working on shifts in call centers. The wives have been married for at least five years and have no less than one child in preschool. It was gathered that 66 percent of the entire population of respondents from this group had at least one child. Fifty one percent of them were assigned on a graveyard shift and 49 percent received a monthly income of P20,000-30,000. Another 15 wives were selected for the snowball approach, 53 percent of whom had one preschool child and all married for an average of seven years. The wives in this group worked on different shifts: five on the morning shift, another five in the afternoon, and the last five on graveyard shift. Forty-seven percent of the wives from this group had a monthly salary of P20,000-30,000.

Results of the Study

• On finances: Majority of the couples agree on the way their finances are handled.  Significantly, 31 percent of the respondents who work at night say they have disagreements with their husbands in terms of handling the finances. However, 60 percent still view their shiftwork positively when it comes to finances.

• On time: Interestingly, 50 percent of the afternoon shifters, 43 percent of the graveyard shifters, and 60 percent of the flexi shifters share that they have a hard time finding reasons to be with their husbands.  Since the work hours entail coming home late, it brings about disagreements on how the married couples should spend their leisure times together, as expressed by 46.80 percent of the respondents. In fact, 48.93 percent of the respondents find themselves unable to have any mutually satisfying interest to share with their husbands.  The wives in the study rely on house helpers and relatives to handle more of the challenges at home.

• On sexual relationships: Fifty-three percent from the afternoon and graveyard shifts confess having sexual disagreements with their spouses. Due to stress, the wives experience fatigue, leading them to push their partners aside.

• On faithfulness: Eighty-five percent (85.11%) of the respondents believe that having flings is taboo but some of the respondents (10 percent) say that it is acceptable, whether with the opposite or same sex. Since the evident lack of connection leads to loneliness, 48.93 percent of the respondents sometimes consider having a better option for a partner and indicate that they are open to choosing somebody other than their husbands, should they have a second chance at marriage. Almost half of the respondents (48. 94 percent) contemplate ending their marriage.      

• On household chores:  Almost 96 percent of the respondents recognize the importance of household chores and do not think it’s degrading. All of the respondents see child-rearing as a joint responsibility.

In conclusion, the wives in the study considered themselves to have attained marital happiness only in the aspect of sharing household chores. Because of erratic schedules, the areas of finance, time, sexual relationships and faithfulness were negatively affected.

More than half of the respondents argued about money, which was sad for the wives who entered the call center occupation mainly for monetary reasons. Heightened disagreements were also shared as having caused harm or violence among couples.  

The following were identified as the negative effects of a call center job that requires a 24/7 schedule: limited time spent with family and friends, low satisfaction level in terms of sexual relationships of spouses, existence of flings, difficulty in managing errands and household chores, poor communication and interaction with the spouse, and poor health.

Since wives who work in call centers face many challenges, the researcher recommends that human resource departments of such companies implement family-centered activities that could help strengthen family bonds of their employees. They should also safeguard the health and well-being of pregnant mothers by not allowing them to work on graveyard shifts.  

The researcher also hopes that more research about each aspect of marital happiness be tackled.        

Upon learning the results of this study, it is my desire that doors will open for healthy discussions among married couples about the effects of working in call centers. Hopefully, the same couples can put more of their energy into preserving their families as they try to pursue their careers and save for a brighter future for themselves.

May the recommendations of the researcher be implemented and more positive results be gathered from future studies.

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E-mail author at mommytalk@businessworks.com.ph.