Examination of Voice Perception and Voice Fatigue in Call Center Employees

Call center employees are professional voice users and use their voices extensively while performing their professional functions. The purpose of this study is to examine whether a higher occupational voice burden among call center employees affects voice fatigue and perception.

A total of 114 adult individuals working in call centers who were not diagnosed with any voice disorder (study group, n = 57) and who were not professional voice users (control group, n = 57) were included in this study. Demographic information, the Voice Fatigue Index (VFI), and the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) were administered to all participants. Sub-factors of the VFI, such as tiredness and avoidance of voice use (factor 1), physical discomfort after voice use (factor 2), and improvement in symptoms with rest (factor 3), were also examined.

Each group included 71.9% females (n = 41) and 28.1% men (n = 16). The scores of VFI factor 1, VFI factor 2, 3, VFI_TOTAL, and VHI-10 in the study group were statistically higher than those in the control group. The average VFI factor 2, VFI factor 3, and VFI_TOTAL scores of females in the study group were considerably greater than the average scores of men. The VFI and its sub-factors, as well as the VHI-10 scores of the study group whose daily working hours were 8 hours or less and 8 hours or more, did not vary significantly.

It has been observed that call center employees experience voice fatigue, which has an impact on voice perception in their professional functions. As a result of their heavy vocal load, contact center workers may be at a higher risk of acquiring voice disorders. Voice fatigue must be taken into account in the assessment and intervention of contact center employees by professionals and therapists working in the field of voice.