The Effect Of Long Working Hours On Employees Of Ufone Call Centers

Abstract

We have no words at our command to express our deepest sense of gratitude and numerous thanks to Almighty Allah (The compassionate and the merciful, the only creator of the universe inspire of numerous difficulties), who gave us the devotion and the insight to complete this project.

We would also like to thank our class fellows, other teachers and friends for their moral support as well as the motivation for the completion of this project.

Last but not least our sincere thanks to our course instructor, Miss Nusrat Huma. for the good wishes and support otherwise this project would have been merely a dream.

Abstract Background Long working hours have negative effects on employee performance in terms of health and fatigue. As far as motivation is concerned it is a supporting factor for working long hours. As a result of globalization, it has become increasingly common internationally for people to work long hours. Many researchers have investigated the relationships among working hours, physical health, motivation and employee performance in Western countries, but little research has been conducted in the Pakistan. The job nature of people working in the Call Centers of ufone in Pakistan is different from that in Western countries. The influence of these long working hours on the lives of staff members may thus be different from that in Western world. Purpose The main objective of this project is to investigate the influence of working hours on the physical health, fatigue, and motivational level of Call Centers employees of ufone in relation to their performance. Methodology Data from 150 Call Center employees of ufones have been collected by questionnaire for SPSS analysis. Findings The results suggest that people who report longer working hours generally need high level of motivation in their work for better performance. Although the effect of long working hours is slightly weaker on health and fatigue but these factor can never be neglected when employee performance is considered. Table of Content

Topic Page Number Introduction 5 – 9 Organization Background 9 – 12 Rationale of the Study 12 Problem Statement 13 Objective of the Study 13 Literature Review 14 – 20 Theoretical Framework 20 Methodology 21 – 26 Results and Findings 27 – 35 Conclusion & Discussion 35– 42 Bibliography 43 – 44 Annexure 45 - 54

INTRODUCTION

It is a common observation that all work and no play have negative impacts on the lives of the employees of any organization. Extended working hours at work places are the main reasons of health complaints and work related stress can lead to several serious accidents. So far number of studies and research has been conducted in order to bring into attention the serious problems long working hours can cause to the human health and mental conditions of employees. Heart attacks, fatigue, stress, backaches and general health complaints are some of the issues one can face while working late and for longer period of time. A.E. Dembe in his article “Ethical Issues Relating to the Health Effects of Long working hours” which was published in April, 2009 reveals some of the major health issues that are caused due to the long working hours and shift work. According to A.E. Dembe’s findings long working hours and shift work raises the odds for workers to be injured, to be fatigued, stressed, and to suffer from a range of serious medical illnesses.

In today’s modern world economy has gained a pivotal position in any country’s progress and prosperity. Development of a country is now judged on the basis of increase in its economy rate per year, and in order to compete with the world’s economic market all the organizations of a country want workers who can work as much hours as they can. Some people are willing to work for late hours and can maintain a balance between work and private life, while most of the people have to work for late hours because they do not have an option and so they face some serious consequences for that. In many areas of the world eight hours is considered a traditional workday. Even though it is known as a standard workday, a large portion of the world population works more than eight hours. An employee often works more than eight hours a day because their employer requires it or because they need the money. Regardless of the reason for doing so, it has been proven that long hours can have a negative impact on an employee and his/her performance. The average hours worked by full time employees in Pakistan has increased over the last decade. Long work hours create work-life imbalance. Praveen Kumar Tumma in his article “Do working long hours increase the productivity of an employee?” said; maintaining a work-life balance is extremely important for both the employer and the employee as this will help boost productivity and thus helpful in the long term. By definition Work-life balance is about being able to maintain a balance between work and personal responsibilities on all fronts: – Work and family – Work and personal fulfillment– Work and social and community responsibility (Women in Employment Committee, 2003). As we know happy worker is a productive worker. It means that a balanced work-life is as crucial for employer as for employees and their families. Every employee has a specific reason which acts as a source of motivation for the worker. Some people work to gain certain benefits, some for love and family and others for achieving goals of their lives. And if the motivation level goes down it ultimately affects the performance of the employee. Sometimes due to tough and busy schedule workers’ lives become narrow as they do not get enough time to spend with their families, friends and for other activities like sports etc. this directly or indirectly effects employee’s health, motivational level, fatigue levels and their performance. It is generally believed that working long hour’s increases the productivity. This concept is not correct because there are number of other factors involved in the increase of productivity of an employee, according to Praveen Kumar Tumma, “it is a general concept that if employees would work for longer hours productivity will increase but my opinion is different about that I think it’s not an ideal thinking and this is nowhere proved scientifically or generally, productivity is not linked up with the working hours which an employee exert but to what extent they enjoys working this is the basic thing. The long working hours effect the employees in both ways, in negative as well as in positive way. Because it depends how employees think of it. If they feel happy working long hours and enjoys their work then this will ultimately leads them to satisfy their basic needs and to achieve their personal goals (for example, helping others, or receipt of recognition of skills and achievements). Working on extended time some time provides employees with ‘Quality time’ when there is no disturbance or very low and essentially rewarding work is complete, and prevention of the ‘rush hours’ when traffic overcrowding is at its climax.

Usually long working hours are taken as progress of work and increase in pay and benefits of employees, which usually increases the motivation level among employees who work longer and can lead to higher productivity. On the other prospective, long working hours effect negatively as well. Negative cost often depend on a series of factors such as the level of the responsibilities of employees for their families and his/her commitment in society activities. Long hours may function as a straight stressor in that workers need to continue performing sufficiently in spite of exhaustion. According to the report issued by Circadian Technologies “un hygienic working conditions and sleeping deficiency can also lead to ergonomics injuries and lost workdays, especially among employees in extended-hours positions (regularly working outside the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.)

This study identifies the effects of the long work hours and well being of employees of Ufone PTML, a telecom organization operating in Pakistan and the families of these employees in Pakistani perspective. This study will specifically examine the effects of long work hours on the employees of the Call Center Department.

Organization’s Background

Ufone is one of the most popular and leading cellular companies in Pakistan. Initially it was used as a brand name for Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) which started its operation in 2001. But later on, when PTCL was privatized Ufone started functioning under the banner of Emirates Telecommunication Corporation Group (Etisalat) and became a part of it in 2006. Since than Ufone started working efficiently and till now it has expanded its network coverage to more than 750 cities, towns etc all over the country. Operating Performance

Ufone’s operational performance has been very encouraging. Despite the stiff competition in Pakistan telecom market which has led to reduction of prices to bare minimum level, due to its aggressive policies and exercising strict control over expenses the Company managed to improve its revenue and after-tax profit by 87% and 54% respectively, as compared to last year.

Future Plans

Keeping in view the growth potential of the cellular industry there is no option but to be aggressive in order to remain a potent force in the cellular industry. In order to extend cellular network to new cities, towns and highways and enhance its current installed capacities in existing cities, Ufone has finalized a huge network expansion contract amounting to about USD 550 million, which will enhance the subscribers’ capacity by 10 million. This is the largest ever expansion project of Ufone. A strong focus will be on maintaining high quality of service, which is always a benchmark of Ufone, increasing usage and exploring new revenue streams on value added services, market visibility through various market initiatives to fulfill subscribers’ satisfaction and demand and above all to increase the value of investment for the shareholders.

2. Ufone Mission

In order to evolve with our customers and to keep pace with your needs, we rejuvenated and revamped our image by changing our visual identity.

3. Ufone Vision

To be the leading Telecommunication Services Provider in Pakistan by offering innovative Communication solutions for our Customers while exceeding Shareholder value & Employee Expectations.

4. UFONE Departments Mainly the company has Nine departments. Their names along with some description are given below: a) Human Recourse Management b) IT c) Finance d) Administration e) Procurement f) Engineering g) Sales & Marketing h) Customer Services i) Credit and Collection department.

Customer service