Embodied well-being : a prosilience programme for call centre agents

Abstract

This study explores how full-time students, employed part-time as call centre agents in South Africa, can develop prosilience-related behaviours to manage stress and enhance their subjective well-being (SWB). The central aim of this study is to develop and facilitate an embodied prosilience programme (EPP) grounded in somatic practices to support call centre agents in mitigating stress.

This study is situated in the field of somatic practice. Somatic practice incorporates practices, such as embodied movement, that focus on creating awareness by having the individual reflect on their movement patterns and develop self-directed and personal movement capacity (Meehan & Carter 2021:2). Movement within somatic practice denotes a range of physical activities that prepare the individual for states of heightened physicality and vocality, aiming to enhance expressivity and optimise use of self (Potter, Adrian & Fleischer 2017:5).

Somatic practices have increasingly adopted a monist perspective of the bodymind, marking a departure from the dualist view that understands the body ‘and’ mind as separate entities. This shift may contribute to an awareness of embodied patterns, which could encourage more effective stress-management strategies (Payne 2021:2), and thereby enhance SWB.

Such strategies become pertinent in high-pressure work environments such as call centres. Well-being in the workplace is crucial, as it not only affects individual performance but also influences organisational culture and employee retention (Ladagga 2022:[sp]). Subjective well-being, which encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, is particularly vulnerable to the pressures of chronic stress, especially in high-pressure environments. Call centre agents frequently experience stress due to their demanding workloads, repetitive tasks, and challenging customer interactions.

This study investigates how full-time students employed part-time as call centre agents in South Africa can develop prosilience-related behaviours to manage stress and improve their SWB within these demanding work environments. Programmes like the EPP may offer strategies that draw from somatic practices to mitigate stress and promote prosilience in the workforce.

VUCA world involves volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and the BANI world comprises brittleness, anxiety, non-linearity, and incomprehensibility. The VUCA/BANI world exacerbates stress in call centres and can have a detrimental effect on mental health, leading to burnout, absenteeism, and reduced job satisfaction (Banks & Roodt 2011:5).

In exploring ways to enhance SWB in the VUCA/BANI world, it is useful to consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which emphasises the importance of addressing basic (or deficiency) needs before individuals can focus on growth and self-actualisation. By using bodyminded practices such as somatic movement to build stress-prosilient behaviours, this study seeks to help call centre agents to address both deficiency needs and growth needs outlined in Maslow’s hierarchy.

In terms of research praxis, I was guided by a constructivist worldview and research paradigm. I employed a qualitative approach to my research, and a phenomenographic research design. I used phenomenography as my research methodology as it enables a focus on exploring and understanding the different ways in which people experience and conceptualise phenomena (Khan 2014:34).

This methodological choice allowed me to observe and capture data on the subjective experiences of participants so as to understand how their participation in the EPP may have influenced their well-being. My phenomenographic data collection and analysis methods included semi-structured interviews before and after the EPP intervention, participant journaling, body mapping, participant observation, and video recordings to create a thick description of the participants’ experiences of the EPP. I also employed a quasi-quantitative data collection method by using the workplace SBW assessment and comparison instrument, the workplace PERMA profiler, to ascertain the SWB profile of participants before and after their participation in the EPP. My use of mainly qualitative methods with this latter quasi-quantitative instrument aided me in triangulating the various data collection methods to ensure a thorough analysis of the data I collected. I analysed the data by means of theme extraction, using data analysis tools such as ATLAS.ti. After theme extraction, I analysed and interpreted the data in relation to the main themes of the programme, interpersonal experience and intrapersonal experience.

This analysis of the participants’ responses to the EPP demonstrated that, for the duration of the intervention, they gained prosilience-related behaviours and habits, primarily through the creation of their own pattern phrases. My interpretation of the data from the workplace PERMA profilers reveals that, overall, participation in the EPP enhanced participants’ SWB, enabling them to cross thresholds into healthier ranges of functioning. This last reflects reductions in distress and enhanced experience of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment at work, despite some inter-individual variability in relation to certain factors.