In the last several weeks, I’ve left work around 11:30pm. During those times, I’ve noticed something interesting. Right around that time, there is always a large group of people walking along West Cordova towards the Waterfront Skytrain station. At first, I thought it might be a night class that just ended. Then I realized that probably wasn’t right since the group was rather large and 11:30pm is pretty late for a night class to end.
I also noticed these people weren’t casually dressed but they also weren’t in formal business wear. That told me they were probably working but not in an environment that had them directly interacting with the public. What kind of office job ends at exactly 11:30pm every day?
The answer I came up with was those people were call centre employees. It seems logical. They’re located downtown, work into the evening (to possibly cover global calls), and they all end their shifts at the same time.
I could be wrong but I don’t think most people grow up wanting to work in a call centre. I do, however, think it would be interesting to work in a call centre for about a month. Maybe I’m crazy but I believe it would be interesting (at first) to field calls from the public. What I couldn’t handle though, is the immense amount of scrutiny some call centre employees are under. It’s possible to track how many minutes a worker is on the phone, off the phone, or unavailable to take calls. I’ve even heard of a company that limits the amount of time a worker can be in the washroom. I may work long hours but no one keeps track of how long I’m in the loo.
I wonder what company those people represent.