A cross sectional study on psychological problems among call handlers employed in international call centers in the national capital region of delhi, india

Introduction: The national Capital region of Delhi is the hub of call centers in India. There are a lot of occupational health problems in call center employees. There are physical, psychological and behavioral deviations among them. This paper aims to study the psychological problems in call handlers employed in international call centers in the national capital region of Delhi, India. Objective: To measure the level of perceived stress, anxiety and depression among call handlers working in call centers in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 call handlers aged 18-39 years in the months of June and July 2015. The study is being conducted at two reputed call centers located in the national Capital region of Delhi. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale- 42 (DASS-42) is being used to measure stress, anxiety, and depression along with a pretested questionnaire containing socio demographic profile of the participants. The data obtained at the end of the study was analyzed for the presence of stress, anxiety and depression in the call centre handlers. Results: Of the 200 participants, 40% were married, 52 % were unmarried and the rest were either divorced or in a live in relationship. Most of them (60%) worked in night shifts and the rest worked in day shifts or both day and night shift. The prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among call handlers was 56.7%, 47.1%, and 52.9% respectively. In our study almost 69% of the study population had some form of sleep problems. The main reasons given for the sleep problems were night shifts (66%) and long working hours (34%). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression in the call handlers employed in international call centers in the national capital region of New Delhi, India. There is also a high prevalence of sleep problems in this group. With the boom in the call center industry in India, the health of these young people is at stake. Public health specialists must also focus on this group of people and their problems must be properly addressed.