Sense of coherence, affective wellbeing and burnout in a South African higher education institution call centre

Abstract

The high levels of absenteeism and turnover due to the incidence of high stress
\nlevels in the higher education call centre environment have led to renewed
\ninterest in measuring call centre agents’ work-related wellbeing. The objectives of
\nthe study were to: (1) assess the overall wellness climate profile of a sample of
\nhigher education call centre employees for national benchmarking purposes; (2)
\nexplore the relationship between the participants’ sense of coherence, affective
\nwellbeing and burnout (measured by the South African Employee Health and
\nWellness Survey); and (3) determine how the participants differ regarding these
\nvariables in terms of gender, race, age and marital status. A quantitative survey
\nwas conducted on a convenience sample (n = 102) of call centre employees
\nworking in a full-time capacity in a South African higher education institution. The
\nresults indicated a risky wellness climate as compared to the national norm.
\nCorrelational statistics revealed significant associations between the participants’
\nsense of coherence, affective wellbeing and burnout levels. Multiple regression
\nanalyses indicated sense of coherence and burnout as significant predictors of
\nthe participants’ affective wellbeing. Significant differences regarding these
\nvariables were also detected between males and females and the various marital
\nstatus groups. The findings contribute valuable new knowledge to the field of
\nemployee wellness that can be used to improve the work-related wellbeing of
\nemployees in the South African higher education call centre environment.