'You don't know what you've got till it's gone': re-contextualising the origins, development and impact of the call centre

Vaughan Ellis; Phil Taylor

doi:10.1111/j.1468-005X.2006.00167.x

'You don't know what you've got till it's gone': re-contextualising the origins, development and impact of the call centre

Vaughan Ellis, Phil Taylor

Work, Employment And Organisation

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

62 Citations (Scopus)

52 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper locates the emergence of call centres within the broader political economy. We demonstrate how British Gas responded to privatisation, restrictive regulation and the need to deliver shareholder value by radically changing work organisation. Using documentary evidence and oral testimonies, we show how the call centre was pivotal to tightening control over the labour process, to intensifying work and transforming the experience of work.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	107-122
Number of pages	15
Journal	New Technology, Work and Employment
Volume	21
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-005X.2006.00167.x
Publication status	Published - 6 Jul 2006

Keywords

british gas
call centres
employee attitudes
working life

Access to Document

10.1111/j.1468-005X.2006.00167.x

strathprints017919Accepted author manuscript, 124 KB

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Cite this

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