It was one such day in the summers of 2005 when i ended up reading the best-selling novel by India’s most admired writer, Chetan Bhagat. As the title said, it was all about a night at the call centre. Throughout the years after reading the book, i kept thinking how thrilling the life of the people working in would be. Until i met someone (well in my case it was in the journey of life & not a train), who showed me the real side of that so called thrilling world! Call Centres- the one place that’s consuming a major chunk of our youth in the present day; is an own world-a world in itself. In simple words is inscribed the deep desire of becoming financially independent and a desperate search for economic freedom, precisely what young people are looking for today: an easiest step to this search seems to be a job at a call centre.
It all begins innocuously enough. The beginnings welcome u with a warm working environment, a few hours of training & a pay cheque at the end of each month.. That definitely sounds good! The months pass, the workload begins to take a toll bringing alongwith it, the struggle to survive. In that race of giving your best (ultimate best to be precise) and completing the targets, there are only a few ones who manage to climb the treacherous corporate ladder & reach the very top. The remaining stay at the fixed figures from where they started. There’s no denying the fact that for the former ones, there is enough money in there. A kind of financial status that every young individual wants to enjoy is something they have up their sleeves. With each ten on ten performance, Incentives add up to that month end pay cheque, thus leading to an increase in the salary digits every single time. Once that more & more money starts coming up, people don’t want to give up.
The story doesn’t end here. The person who said that money can’t buy happiness, surely knew both sides of the coin. While the financial and the economic freedom is achieved, there is a huge erosion in the prospect of happiness. This evolves due to various reasons ranging from anxieties & insecurities, questions about career, inadequacy, conflicts at very deep personal levels and the relationship of the employees to both executives and ordinary clients whom they deal with. Moreover, at a certain level, the business of politics starts to peep in. The people who are on a highest rung of success are the foremost victims to it. You could have a thousand critics around you not because of your underperformance, but for being perfectly brilliant!! Not to forget mentioning, the change in the sleep cycle. At the most ungodly hours, when the world has fallen asleep, these people gel themselves to their computer screens, with their head gear & mic on and very politely saying those words “HI.. HOW MAY I HELP U?! ‘’. This all leads to an impact on mind, a realisation that something’s to be corrected, a logical awareness and then a try, try and a try to come out of it. Amidst all this, the concept of living happily sweeps very neatly under the carpet.
Working in call centres is a fast becoming trend today. Young, educated Indians are migrating from small towns and opting for such jobs. But the enduring question i am left with is: Does this kind of a work culture leading to a collateral damage to the shining Indian youth? What about the emotional health of the hearts who are constantly getting depressed?
Because in this real & not so fairy tale world, the people won’t atleast receive a call from GOD and get themselves lifted out of the ditch!!
