Contact Center Pipeline March 2026 | Page 42

Without a shift in how call centers recruit, train, and support their people, organizations risk increased turnover costs, reduced productivity, and a direct hit to profitability.

THE EMOTIONAL LABOR CHALLENGE

Call center jobs are what psychologist Christina Maslach calls " contact work ": roles requiring constant emotional labor. Agents must remain composed, empathetic, and effective while interacting with frustrated or confused customers.

Even before AI, these roles had some of the highest turnover rates across industries. This raises a strategic question for call center leaders: how do we identify people who can handle the pressures of this work?( See BOX on leadership implications.)

BEYOND NEUROTICISM: A BETTER PREDICTOR

Traditional recruitment models have relied mainly on the Big Five trait " neuroticism " to estimate stress sensitivity( see BOX on Big Five traits). But emerging research suggests this isn ' t the best predictor at all.

A significantly more accurate predictor of burnout, especially in high-pressure environments like call centers, is the combination of two traits:

Ambitious and driven, these individuals set high standards for themselves. So, when customers express frustration or dissatisfaction— as they inevitably do— these agents experience sharper disappointment and internalize the negativity more deeply.

In outbound call settings, this same combination can reduce assertiveness. The desire to be liked may override the drive to convert or close, making them less pushy or competitive than the role requires.

THE DATA: SIX CRITICAL PATTERNS

I ' ve conducted several studies in call centers in both the U. S. and the Nordic countries. In one U. S.-based study involving 289 call center agents, I observed clear patterns linking psychological traits to real-world outcomes.

Pattern 1: Lower Preparedness for Emotional Demands Insecure overachievers report feeling less prepared to manage emotionally charged conversations with customers. Those with performance-based self-esteem and high ambition tend to feel less equipped to handle the emotional strain, even when they have the same training as their peers.

• Performance-based self-esteem(" I am only worthy if I succeed ").

• High ambition(" I must always perform at my best ").

This blend creates the insecure overachiever. These individuals often look ideal on paper: high grades, strong drive, impressive performance. But they ' re also much more prone to burnout, have difficulty accepting feedback, and incur stress-related leave.

This vulnerability stems from a psychological mechanism; when self-esteem is tied to performance, feedback isn ' t just feedback, it ' s personal. If a customer or supervisor is unhappy, it feels like a rejection of one ' s worth.

People with this profile also tend to take disproportionate responsibility for others ' satisfaction, making them especially sensitive in emotionally charged conversations. In the fastpaced world of contact work, where complaints and dissatisfaction are part of the job, this sensitivity becomes a very real risk factor.

Pattern 2: Perceived Workload Amplification When employees don ' t feel adequately prepared to handle difficult conversations, they begin to perceive their work as more demanding than others do, even though they have the same workloads. Lack of preparedness correlates with these perceptions, regardless of actual task volume.

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