Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
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18 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com NEW EDITION POCKET ONTARIO OH&S ACT & REGULATIONS 2013 – CONSOLIDATED EDITION Where do you turn for the latest developments in occupational health and safety law? Pocket Ontario OH&S Act & Regulations 2013 – Consolidated Edition contains the complete and current Occupational Health & Safety Act and Regulations, which covers the latest legislation including Bill 160. THIS EDITION COVERS NEW LEGISLATION IN A VARIETY OF AREAS, INCLUDING: ȕ Coming into force of portions of Bill 160, overhauling Ontario's health and safety regulatory prevention structure in response to the recommendations of the Dean panel ȕ New Regulation regarding the role of the Offices of the Worker and Employer Advisers with respect to reprisals ȕ Addition of the Mines and Mining Plants Regulation ȕ Amendments to Regulations regarding Designated Substances and Control of Exposure to Biological and Chemical Elements, in force January 1, 2013 ȕ Updated list of OH&S Resources and index ALSO AVAILABLE IN FRENCH* Loi et règlements sur la santé et la sécurité au travail en Ontario 2013 *Where no official French regulation is available, the regulation will be published in English. STAY UP TO DATE ON NEW LEGISLATION AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 ORDER # 985359-65203 $23.50 Softcover approx. 980 pages March 2013 978-0-7798-5359-3 Available on standing order subscription Multiple copy discounts available Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. NOW INCLUDES MINING REGULATION By Linda Johnson A n occupation that requires workers to spend much of the day making and receiving tele- phone calls may sound like a relatively safe job. But call centre work has many serious health risks. According to experts, the mental health eff ects of these types of jobs can be severe, with workers suff ering high rates of stress, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Call agents must also deal with physical hazards rang- ing from musculoskeletal disorders to chronic hearing loss. According to a 2009 study by Toronto-based Morneau Shepell, a provider of employee and family assis- tance programs, call centre employees report higher levels of mental and physical health issues than those of other industries. It noted 47.6 per cent of employees who quit cited stress as the main reason for leaving. e industry, the study observed, is marked by high absenteeism, low employee retention and poor customer relations. It also pointed to a number of job characteristics that lead to work- place stress, including stigmatized work, lack of job control, low task vari- ety and high exposure to angry clients. Genie McDougall of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CIEU), which represents agents in vari- ous Service Canada departments, agrees many features of call centre work make for an extremely stressful environment. Severe time pressures are, for exam- ple, a fact of life for most call handlers, she says. One reason is "occupancy," a formula used to measure productiv- ity based on the percentage of time workers spend handling calls versus available time. As a result, most call agents throughout the industry have 10 seconds between calls. In many Ser- vice Canada departments, they have fi ve seconds. "In fi ve seconds, people don't have a chance to draw breath, take a drink of water, gather their thoughts," says McDougall, who is national chair of CIEU's national call centre commit- tee. "And you may have had a rough call. Sometimes, clients are less than congenial." Although caller inquiries are o en complex, she says, many call agents are required to complete calls in six minutes, six seconds. Calls are also monitored for content and, o en, for the agent's tone, rhythm and lack of hesitation. "It leads to a lot of stress, both WHEN HAZARDS COME CALLING Improper work setups and procedures are increasingly putting call centre workers at risk of mental and physical problems