Effects of the environmental factors in call centre interiors: a case study

Abstract

Environmental factors in workspaces affect employee productivity and satisfaction, particularly in call centres. One of the most challenging issues in contemporary offices is overcoming the problems of concentration on work, despite adverse effects such as insufficient lighting, inappropriate acoustics, or inadequate ventilation. The challenges increase in open-plan solutions. This paper presents a case study from Turkey that elaborates on strategies to improve environmental performance in call centres. It is inspired by a questionnaire conducted among employees of a call centre, identifying existing design lacks. Based on the results, acoustic quality calculations of the physical workspace follow, and initial computing outcomes reveal that the conditions do not meet the standards for call centres. The authors propose strategies to improve acoustic performance in the workspace and apply them to a virtual model. Results reveal that the proposed solutions allow for meeting the standards. Based on the findings, the authors suggest several other strategies for improving the physical environmental quality of the place, thus forming a guideline for the architectural design of call centres. The study derives information from a specific case and context to propose universally applicable solutions. It fills a gap in the literature as it exemplifies the characteristics of call centres in Turkey, which have not been studied before.