The Struggles of Being a Mom and a Philippine Call Center Agent

What are the struggles of being a mom and a Philippine call center agent?

1. Irregular Time Management
2. Fatigue Due to Lack of Sleep
3. An Increase of Stress and Anxiety
4. Their Health is at Risk

It is daunting enough to be an agent at a Philippine call center, imagine juggling it with the responsibility of being a mom. As a mother and an agent, you are challenged with the task of maintaining a work-life balance because your home will not be complete without your constant upkeep.

The everyday struggle in this industry is felt by employees not only in foreign countries but also in the Philippines. Call centers give a rewarding experience to their employees with the benefits, ample salary, and a collaborative work environment.

Let’s take a look at some well-known struggles that call center moms go through, and take a page from their book about their sheer indestructibility in times of distress.

Irregular Time Management

Working as a call center agent will drive your body clock crazy because of graveyard shifts and the shifting schedules that agents encounter. Most people who work in a call center will find sleeping during the daytime hard because it doesn’t beat a good night’s rest.

Combine that with being a mom who has to cook meals for her kids, clean the house, balance the home budget, and fulfill the endless list of household chores, this can be a disaster waiting to happen. This can result in missed tasks and forgotten chores.

Time management can be difficult if you are not setting priorities right and doing things according to schedule so make a record of activities to identify significant tasks that have to be done within a day or the week. However, with the resilience that moms exhibit, time is not the enemy but the very best partner to support them.

Fatigue Due to Lack of Sleep

According to a study titled, Lifestyle and Reproductive Health Issues of Young Professionals in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, agents get an average of 6.2 hours of sleep each day compared to the 6.5 hours of sleep of non-call center employees. This is because almost half of call center employees work on the graveyard shift.

This leaves call center moms tired most of the time because their work is not the only thing they have to pay attention to, often resulting in less bonding time with their family. In addition to this, they will not have the energy to do recreational activities anymore. The time they will spend out would rather be spent sleeping.

Without the proper time to rest, most activities that can be done are pushed to the back of their minds. This will also leave them sluggish most of the day because sleep is one of the essential things to consider for their health. The dynamic roles of being an agent and a mother can clash, which will deplete their energy.

An Increase of Stress and Anxiety

As previously mentioned, working in a call center eats up most of a mothers’ time. Dealing with rude clients, keeping up with their boss’ instructions, then coming home to do household chores is very tiresome. Most of the time, this is a primary source of anxiety and stress. When it comes to emotional challenges, moms are known to weather it all simply by providing care for everyone.

All of this is for them to provide for their family which; their motivation for continuing the work of a call center agent even when it is too much. When all of these get too unbearable, proper stress management is needed. Savor the quiet times at home and do not get too affected by stress aggressors at work.

Their Health is at Risk

Staying healthy is a high priority especially when you are a mom and a call center agent at the same time. With the struggles that arise, proper sleep and diet can be neglected. Also, there are certain times when employees do not get to eat on time because of their work. This results in the call center agents being sick due to work. Due to fatigue and lack of sleep, this contributes to their bad health habits. With everything that has been going on in the schedule of call center moms, they can sometimes overlook their health condition.

The tight schedule does not allow them to exercise either and this will result in a bad figure. Keep in mind that the busy schedule should not be an excuse to form bad health habits and being healthy is the key to keeping up with this lifestyle. Fortunately, call center companies care greatly for their employees so there will be health assistance and other benefits which can prevent this issue from happening.

Key Takeaway

Working in a Philippine call center and being a mom at the same time is no easy feat. There are lots of agents that have this alter identity and everyone should commend them for doing this because not everyone is built to shoulder these kinds of responsibilities.

Happy Mother’s Day to all call center moms out there, you deserve all the appreciation you will get!