Author: Anxela Ruci, Klevis Paloka, Nkiruka Omeronye
The companies, which employ tens of thousands of young Albanians, bear the dark side of not caring for their physical and psychological health.
Migena L. is 22 years old and one of the most difficult moments for her is her mother's phone call after she finishes work. She hesitates to answer him.
A recent journalism graduate, Migena has been working for three and a half years at a call center in Tirana, where she spends eight hours a day calling citizens who live more than 600 kilometers across the Adriatic. Her job is to "persuade" them to sign up for Services and offers offered by Italian companies.
Along with the lack of desire to talk on the phone, as a result of the long hours she spends with headphones in her ears, Migena tells PSE that she has lost her composure and often finds herself tense even in simple social situations.
"At the end of the day I find myself very tired and irritable. When they repeat something to me twice, I get annoyed. I was very calm, but now I have forgotten the calm..., she says.
Like Migena, there are currently approximately 25 young Albanians who work to offer Services to Italian consumers through telemarketing.
Employees and managers in these telemarketing Services told PSE that the average age of those who work there is about 23 years old and approximately 90 percent of them are continuing or have completed higher studies.
In a country like Albania, where unemployment among young people aged 15 to 29 in 2015 was 33.2 percent, Italian Call Centers are seen as an important sector for improving employment indicators in this category.
Albanian institutions have also followed with concern the tightening of Italian legislation in recent months regarding companies that transfer work outside Italy and the countries of the European Union.
But it is rarely talked about in the country about the working conditions of young Albanians within these companies and the fact that working long hours, talking or listening and standing in front of the computer, at the same time causes psychological and health damage to them.
From interviews with young people who work in call centers , it is learned that these companies do not offer their employees any psychological support Services or periodic checkups regarding the functioning of hearing, vision, vocal cords, or spinal problems.
The lack of such Services is also accepted by the representatives of these companies.
According to the Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, the number of Call Centers in Albania in 2015 reached 804, increasing tenfold compared to 2000, when the number of these companies was only 76.
The need for survival, stronger than health care
Denada M. is 21 years old and she describes her several years of experience in the Call Center in two words : “Stress and Pará”.
The psychology student, who has worked for three different telemarketing companies in Tirana and Durrës, emphasizes that the pressure in the workplace is high and the working conditions difficult.
She tells PSE that during an eight-hour shift at the Call Center, only a 15-minute break is allowed after the first four hours, at a time when sitting for long periods of time causes back pain and a lot of stress.
"The miracle of my workday is the 15-minute break," she says, at a time when all call centers in the country work six days a week.
Xhuliana Jakimi, another young woman who worked in the Call Center , told PSE that she had experienced significant vision problems while working.
Klaudia, 23 years old, who has been working in the Call Center for three years, has felt problems with her ears in two of them, due to the large headphones and high volume during conversations with Italian customers.
Fjoralb Hodaj, a student, who for a period of four months had worked in one of the companies, told PSE that due to the great stress he accumulated at work, he had problems sleeping.
"I couldn't sleep peacefully, it was impossible to continue working," he said.
However, other young people, despite these difficulties, continue working in the Call Center , because some of them cannot continue their higher studies without being able to work.
On the other hand, recent graduates face great difficulties entering the labor market and consequently working in a Call Center is the easiest way to earn an income that will ensure a normal standard of living.
An hour of work in these companies starts from 180 to 250 lek, but in special cases of specific Services it goes even more. Work shifts start at four to eight hours, although it is not uncommon for young people to work longer hours for extra income.
The payments received in these centers easily exceed the threshold of the minimum salary in Albania, which is 22 thousand ALL.
According to Denada, the pay at the Call Center is sufficient for a normal living, at a time when, if she were to work in her profession as a psychologist in educational or training institutions, the pay would not even be enough to cover her food.
On the other hand, the overly simplified recruitment procedures for starting work in the Call Center bring a high number of those seeking to make a living by bidding over the phone.
Emona Alla, human resources manager at Tregi Marketing Group , which employs around 1 young people, told PSE that what is needed to start working at this company is an average level of Italian and the willingness to work four to six hours a day.
Doctors and psychologists, worried
Orthopedic doctor at the "Mother Teresa" University Hospital, Jetmira Fejzaj, told PSE that problems with the vocal cords and hearing impairment are one of the most problematic factors of working for a long time in a Call Center and to prevent this, periodic medical checkups are required.
"Continuous talking can cause problems with the vocal cords, while using headphones for a long time can damage the auditory nerve.
"It is advisable that call center employees be checked every 6 months to see what condition their hearing is in," she emphasized.
Meanwhile, according to those who work in the Call Center , none of these centers pay for periodic medical checkups for employees.
One of the sharpest problems of working in these companies is stress, which is created for young people by sitting for a long time without moving in front of the computer, constantly talking or listening.
Psychologist, Fleura Shkëmbi, also a lecturer at the European University of Tirana , told PSE that working for a long time in a Call Center brings insomnia, stress, and laziness.
"This is exactly the moment to give up this job and young people start paying more attention to themselves and their well-being", she suggests.
According to Shkëmbi, a major difficulty is the fact that companies do not offer psychological therapy Services, allowing the situation to worsen, and starting from the fact that therapy sessions usually start at 1,500 lek per hour and Call Center employees have difficulty attending them.
"Companies do not pay for therapist Services. Thus, they, (the youth), get stuck in a circle.
They work to earn money, then they spend this money on the psychologist. What was left at the end?", she says.
Emona Alla admits to PSE that in the company where she is the manager, the issue of psychological help for employees has been considered, although it has not yet been decided whether this service will be covered by the company.
According to psychologist Shkëmbi, stress is also caused by the lack of perspective within these companies.
"There comes a moment when young people realize that they have remained at the same point in their lives.
They understand that they have done nothing but sell different offers over the phone", she emphasizes.
The lack of attention to the psychological and health problems of employees is certainly a very negative effect, which forces a young person to do the right calculations before taking the step of employment in these companies.
