Constant Exposure To Rude & Abusive Callers Increases Contact Center 'Desk Rage' Events

‘Road Rage’ is generally defined as violent anger / aggressive behavior associated with driving a motor vehicle in traffic – targeted at other drivers / pedestrians / cyclists – triggered by stress / frustration – including rude verbal insults / yelling / screaming / physical threats / dangerous driving methods.

‘Air Rage’ is much the same thing – airplane passengers venting violent anger / aggressive behavior toward flight attendants and/or other passengers – triggered by missed connections / canceled flights / long delays / poor service / bad food / cramped seats / etc.

‘Desk Rage’ is becoming increasingly common in Contact Centers around the world – Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) lashing out & venting violent anger towards customers / coworkers / management – triggered by record levels of rude & abusive callers.

Some CSRs explode into ‘Desk Rage’ by suddenly “snapping” – screaming / cursing / trashing office equipment / assaulting others.

For most – ‘Desk Rage’ manifests as a slower boil – with CSRs who simply get fed up – and emotionally ‘check out’ from the job – adopting a mindless disengaged attitude – showing up for their shifts in body but not in spirit – irritable / depressed – exhibiting below average productivity / high absenteeism.

Imagine Being Treated Abusively At Your Job On A Daily Basis?

CSRs endure verbal & emotional abuse every day – where callers ‘flip out’ / ‘lose it’ / ‘go wild’ over the telephone.

‘Disinhibition Effect’ is a social psychology term describing how tactless / rude / offensive behaviors increase with distance.

The ‘Disinhibition Effect’ suggests that the further removed people are from face to face human contact (such as over the telephone or online) – the more disinhibited they become with their communications.

A kind of loosening (or complete abandonment) of social norms occurs for some people when using the telephone – and these people become more likely to break social rules about what they say or do in ways they never would in person – and are more frequently likely to intensely rage / rant / scream abuse.

The latest study from the Center for Services Leadership at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University reports that Customer Rage / Abuse calls have nearly doubled since the Covid19 lock downs.

Jammed call queues – long hold times – billing issues – price increases – product / service failures – a recently released study from the University of San Francisco School of Management – that surveyed 1,500+ CSRs from various industry sectors reports:

• 81% of CSRs stated that they’re dealing with verbal & emotional abuse from callers on a daily basis – which is extreme anger expressed over the telephone towards the CSR and/or their organization – which violates the generally accepted norms of interpersonal conduct – and descends into personal insults / screams / curses.
• 36% of CSRs stated that they experience violent threats / racist comments from callers on a daily basis.
• 21% of female CSRs – and 9% of their male coworkers – stated they experience sexual harassment or homophobic comments from callers on a daily basis.

The Average CSR Sees ‘Desk Rage’ All Around Them At Work

According to the recently published “Emotional Incidents in the Workplace Survey” from the University of Washington – during the past 12 months:

• 60% of surveyed hourly wage workers reported seeing their direct supervisor lash out & yell at someone in a sudden fit of extreme anger.
• 42% reported witnessing coworkers being verbally abused by customers / other employees / management.
• 29% admitted to angrily yelling at another coworker.
• 14% stated they had witnessed a coworker purposely damage company equipment in a sudden angry outburst.

Working As A CSR Has Always Ranked High On Lists Of ‘The Unhappiest Jobs’

This is due in large part to the requirement for CSRs to only express socially desired emotions – to always appear happy & eager to serve – displaying positive emotions and suppressing negative ones – while remaining resilient to the anger and hostility that often comes their way – burying their true feelings in order to do what the job requires.

Constantly displaying inauthentic emotions throughout the workday is very stressful – and dealing with disgruntled / dissatisfied / rude / angry / abusive callers every day can quickly become toxic.

CSRs are one of the most at risk groups within an office employee population for mental health / substance abuse / sobriety issues – with Mental Illness Short Term Disability rates 2x to 4x higher than any other department in an organization.

‘Desk Rage’ Drives CSRs To Intentionally Sabotage Calls

When CSRs feel constantly insulted or abused by the people they’re communicating with – their stress & hostility rises.

In that heightened emotional state – some CSRs begin to view any kind of “problem customer” as not worthy of fair treatment – a phenomenon psychologists call ‘Devaluation’ – which leads employees to see those customers as ‘subhuman’.

That view in turn leads to sabotaging customer calls by engaging in damaging / disruptive behaviors – such as misleading or hanging up on a caller – putting a customer on hold for a long period of time – purposely transferring a caller to the wrong department – or telling a customer that their problem / issue will get fixed but then not following through.

It’s a speedy downhill slide from callers mistreating CSRs – to CSR hostility & customer devaluation – to sabotaging customer calls – damaging Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) / Customer Experience (CX) / Brand Image / Bottom Line.

Mindfulness Training Has Been Shown To Reduce CSR ‘Desk Rage’ Events – While Also Improving Job Engagement & Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

Mindfulness isn’t about training your CSRs to chant “Ommmm” while sitting on the floor in the lotus position – and they don't need to be wearing trendy Lululemon yoga gear.

Mindfulness training teaches CSRs that feeling bad after handling a tough call is OK – how to make yourself feel better when you’re angry / upset / stressed – and how to counter negative thoughts.

Mindfulness training can be delivered at the beginning / middle / end of a CSR’s shift.

The best results have been reported from end of shift Mindfulness sessions – used as more of a shift recovery exercise.

Mindfulness in the Contact Center helps CSRs to:

• Not take a customer’s anger / hostility personally.
• Better manage stress levels.
• Be more engaged / resilient ?/ self aware.
• Increase empathy toward others.
• Become less reactive & more responsive.

When CSRs participate in short Mindfulness training sessions – they become more aware of their internal reactions – gain perspective – maintain focus – keep their thoughts & emotions in better check – respond more deliberately – become less stressed by the job – and deliver better service.

• Canadian researchers found that CSR self reported levels of stress / anxiety / depression / negative emotions / fatigue all dropped after receiving daily 5 minute Mindfulness sessions for 5 weeks.
• Harvard Business Review – in their study of 1,700 CSRs from several Contact Centers using Mindfulness training – reported that Quick Quit ‘Just Out of Training’ (less than 3 month's employment) turnover was reduced by a little over one third.
• Aetna Insurance reported an average increase in CSR 1st Year Productivity of $3,000 after implementing Mindfulness training – along with increased employee job engagement – and slight increases in Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).

A CSR Job Is Stressful & Emotionally Demanding

The quality of your company’s Service & Support depends on the emotional state of your CSRs – so investing in their emotional self management makes good business sense.

Mindfulness training delivers a variety of health & business benefits – and you only need a few minutes a day to start seeing tangible results from your CSRs – such as:

• A calmer mood.
• Less stress / anxiety / depression.
• Being more present / engaging / empathic with callers.
• A lower ‘Just Out of Training’ (less than 3 month's employment) voluntary quit rate.
• Higher job engagement.
• Somewhat higher Customer Satisfaction (CSAT).
• Lower rates of medical absenteeism.

Research clearly shows that Mindfulness training programs improve how CSRs focus / think / feel / act in the moment – supports their long term mental well being – boosts their engagement with the job – and lowers the overall number of Contact Center ‘Desk Rage’ events.

Companies Are Also Adopting Zero Tolerance Policies – Empowering Their CSRs To Cut Short Customer Rage / Abuse Calls Without Facing Repercussions

A growing number of employers are choosing to protect their CSRs – training them on how to handle angry / abusive customers – providing easy ways to escalate calls to Supervisors if they feel ill equipped to handle an irate customer – or if the conversation becomes abusive.

These companies also have a policy of ending their business relationship with customers who are repeatedly abusive to their CSRs – and reporting threats of physical or sexual violence to authorities.

Sometimes callers have a right to feel frustrated / upset / angry about a customer experience – but no CSR should have to endure Customer Rage / Abuse calls.

Improving the mental health & well being of your CSRs is good for your business – and there’s no better time than now to introduce Mindfulness training to your Contact Center staff – along with Zero Tolerance Policies empowering CSRs to cut short Customer Rage / Abuse Calls without facing repercussions.

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