How to Manage Call Center Stress: 7 Techniques

If you type ‘call center stress’ into Google, you’ll face a ton of related search results like “I don’t want to work in a call center anymore” and “My call center job is killing me”. And on social media sites like Reddit and X (formerly known as Twitter), you’ll see people expressing feelings of anxiety and stress, sharing coping mechanisms, and simply trying to survive the work.

It’s pretty clear that there’s a big problem in the industry, and the numbers show it:

• 59% of agents face some risk of burning out
• 56% have experienced burnout in some way
• The average cost of turning over a single agent is $14,113

The business implications are a problem, but the primary issue is the human element—call center burnout is a major cause for concern, and it’s impacting businesses in many different ways.

As a manager or supervisor, it’s up to you to act on these issues, help retain your agents, and create an enjoyable, stress-free workplace. So, we’ve got 7 techniques for managing call center stress.

Call center stress statistics

How is contact center burnout really affecting the industry? Well, we’ve got the numbers for you (and they aren’t great).

• The average industry attrition rate in 2022 was 42%. But in just a few years, the average has risen to 60%.
• This has led to 60% of US contact center agents and 28% of UK agents stating they are ‘very likely’ to leave their jobs within six months.

And why are they quitting?

• 38% found better job opportunities
• 35% lacked any career advancement opportunities
• 31% cited a poor work-life balance

These changes have led to management teams rethinking how they can hire (and keep) talent in the short term:

• 63% of contact center leaders are facing staffing shortages
• 58% of organizations say they’re outsourcing, and it’s forecasted to jump to 64% within two years
• 86% of leaders expect to increase starting salaries in the next two years to attract talent

7 techniques to help manage call center stress

So, how can you help reduce call center anxiety, stress, and burnout? Here’s seven tips:

• Ensure open and transparent communication
• Cultivate a sense of community among agents
• Give them time away from the job
• Train agents to handle angry customers and objections
• Provide growth and development opportunities
• Assess yourself as a call center manager
• Use AI to make life easier for agents

These approaches may seem obvious at first, but a little further down we’ll explore what they actually mean for reducing call center burnout.

9 reasons why call center stress is a bigger problem than ever

Higher customer expectations

The bar has been raised for customer service, with 87% of support teams reporting an increase in customer expectations in the last year alone. And when your call center agents can’t deliver, it can lead to frustration on both ends of an interaction.

Rising interaction volumes

Phone calls aren’t the only ways customers get in touch now—email, text chats, social media, and even video chats are all options. However, with more communication channels, agents will have more interactions to handle.

Excessive quality monitoring

While quality assurance is designed to help improve customer experience, it can also add to employee stress. If your QA process isn’t positive and supportive, it can be a negative experience, making agents feel like they’re ‘policed’ by your QA program for not meeting standards.

Boring, repetitive tasks

When agents are tasked with the same tedious tasks day after day, they can easily switch off and disengage, which is a big indicator of stress. A Gallup survey shows that 30% of engaged employees felt stressed from the previous day—while the figure jumped to 56% for disengaged employees.

Agents feeling disempowered

When your agents can’t solve issues—whether it’s a lack of autonomy, limited responsibilities when trying to fix problems, or simply being looked down upon by customers (and management teams), it can leave them feeling helpless.

Inadequate pay and economic challenges

Let’s face it—there’s a lot going on outside your call center, too. There are serious global economic challenges, which can easily add to your employees' daily stress.

Fears around AI job displacement

While we may not be facing a Skynet-level threat from AI, there is a very serious shift in the job market as companies pivot to using AI in the workplace. 52% of people are worried about AI replacing their jobs, and 39% of customer support specialists feel the same.

No room for career growth

There are often few options for advancement or career development within a call center environment. A lack of upward mobility can make it feel like a dead-end job, which only fuels stress, burnout, and agents looking elsewhere.

Lack of work-life balance

Depending on their schedule, availability, or work environment, agents’ work can bleed into their personal lives (especially in fully remote environments). This gets even worse with on-call positions or when there aren’t clear boundaries between their work and life outside of it.

How to spot an agent at risk of burnout

There are three top indicators that show a call center employee is at risk of burnout, according to a recent study:

• 41% don't feel they are paid fairly
• 31% don't receive regular feedback
• 30% don't have a good friend at work

Everyone wants to be paid a fair wage for their work, know that they’re doing a good job (and how to improve), and be cordial with people at work. Without it, they can easily become burnt out, as work becomes more of a chore than an opportunity for themselves.

Some other symptoms of employee burnout include:

• Irritability
• Tiredness or lethargy
• Difficulty focusing or concentrating
• Low productivity
• No sense of achievement or accomplishment
• Apathy towards work
• Negative attitude (about work and otherwise)

So, how do you find these symptoms? Sometimes, it’s as simple as just talking to your agents. Not every meeting needs to be purely about their performance.

If their ability to do their job well is tied to their emotions and feelings, then the best thing you can do is make them feel heard and valued. Talk to them, get a sense of how they feel, and take steps to improve and reduce the chance of call center burnout.

How to manage call center stress: 7 strategies

• Ensure open and transparent communication: Everyone should be able to communicate openly with one another, between managers and agents, or just agent-to-agent. Set some expectations, such as open door policies, so the workplace is a more open, friendly environment.
• Cultivate a sense of community among agents: 30% of agents do not have a good friend at work, which is a shocking number and can be a huge factor in contact center stress. Setting up team-building exercises and social outings helps your team get to know each other and build those relationships.
• Give them time away from the job: We all need a break sometimes, and not having enough can be a major element in contact center stress. Make sure your reps are getting enough vacation days (and opportunities to use them). On a more day-to-day basis, offering short 5 to 10 minute breaks can help staff reset and breathe.
• Train agents to handle angry customers and objections: Nobody wants to get yelled at, but knowing how to deal with angry customers and tough objections gives your reps an out from call center anxiety. Giving them the tools and abilities to handle tough interactions can help them feel empowered and in control—and can help reduce escalations, too.
• Provide growth and development opportunities: Better training sessions, motivation and rewards, and building a positive work culture can all help agents feel happy when they’re at work. Showing clear paths for career growth and promoting staff who do well can also help reduce the chance of feeling like they’re in a dead-end job.
• Assess yourself as a call center manager: You might not be the problem, but you do directly influence your employees’ feelings. Are you setting a positive example by acting as a leader? Are you getting regular feedback from your boss and learning how to coach effectively? Do you and your agents feel they’ve received the proper training to do their job well?
• Use AI to make life easier for agents: Show them how AI tools can help them do their jobs better and streamline their workflows. Call centers that use GenAI tools are 35% less likely to report that reps feel overwhelmed by the information they need to process during calls, which shows how potent AI can be.

You can use QA to support and empower your agents

Using a purpose-built quality assurance platform can have a huge positive impact on call center stress. QA solutions can help you:

• Create tailored coaching and learning opportunities
• Show your agents how they can improve their skills
• Deliver personalized feedback
• Recognize agents for doing well (and highlight where they can improve)

Scorebuddy is the perfect solution to help reduce call center burnout. It offers these features and more so you can boost engagement and make your team feel welcome, valued, stress-free, and happy.

Contact us today for a demo and see how Scorebuddy gets agents invested in QA.