"To Call or Not to Call?" The Impact of Supervisor Training on Call Center Employee Attitudes and Well-Being

Call center customer service occupations represent a growing proportion of the U.S. economy in the digital age. These roles are characterized by low control, high levels of emotional labor, and burnout. Turnover rates in call centers are often twice as high as in other industries. To combat these challenges, I delivered a supervisor-focused mental health training intervention targeted at improving supervisor supportive behaviors and employee outcomes. The indirect effect of supervisor training on employee outcomes related to perceived supervisor support, problem-focused coping, burnout, turnover intentions, and withdrawal behaviors were evaluated. A waitlist control design (N = 74) was used to assess the effectiveness of the training up to six weeks after the intervention. Additionally, a weekly diary study evaluated the process of behavior and attitude change for employees. Results indicated that the intervention did not impact the hypothesized employee outcomes up to six weeks following training. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.