Sexual Harassment with Informal Speech, Nitpicking... 120 Dasan Call Center Takes on Malicious Complaints

Distribution of Manual Applicable to 300,000 Call Center Workers
Notifying Consultation Limits and Ending Calls... Including Punishment Warnings

A manual containing response methods and worker protection guidelines for malicious and aggressive complaints faced by call center counselors, who are representative emotional labor workers, ranging from informal speech and unreasonable claims to verbal abuse, swearing, and sexual harassment, will be published. The manual was developed by surveying the actual conditions of about 1,000 call center counselors to establish complaint types and response methods according to severity.

On the 14th, the Seoul 120 Dasan Call Foundation announced that it will develop and distribute in December a manual for responding to malicious and aggressive complaints that can be used in both public and private call centers. A Seoul city official explained, "It is understood that there are about 300,000 call center counselors nationwide, and this is intended to be used as a standard for how they respond to complaints."

The manual broadly categorizes complaint types into four groups: 'unpleasant and anxiety-inducing emotions,' 'non-cooperation,' 'misuse of complaints,' and 'abuse of complaints.' In particular, in addition to sexual harassment and verbal abuse, which have been generally classified as typical harassment or malicious and aggressive complaints, the manual also includes response methods for recently frequent complaints such as informal speech, irritation, loud voices, nitpicking, refusal to provide personal information, and unreasonable demands.

For example, in the case of threatening or intimidating calls, the first step is to notify that counseling is difficult if there is swearing or threats and that future phone consultations may be restricted, asking the caller to speak calmly. If the behavior continues, the second step is to inform the counselor that the call will be terminated because it causes shame, disgust, fear, or anxiety, making normal counseling difficult, and that future phone consultations may be restricted. It also warns that sexual harassment, swearing, threats, coercion by authority, and obstruction of work may be punishable under relevant laws.

The manual was effectively produced by incorporating expert advice from legal and medical fields, analyzing laws and systems for protecting emotional laborers by the government and local authorities, as well as including complaint types and improvement requests experienced by actual call center counselors. To this end, a survey was conducted targeting 1,108 counselors from 18 domestic call centers.

Accordingly, the 120 Dasan Call Foundation will hold the '2024 Emotional Laborer Protection Conference' at Seoul City Hall on the 20th. The conference will consist of three sessions covering the current status of emotional damage to emotional laborers, emotional protection measures, and communication, where experts will gather to share the damage status of emotional laborers and discuss improvements in working environments and social awareness.

Lee I-jae, director of the 120 Dasan Call Foundation, said, "We plan to develop and distribute a manual that can be used by both private and public sectors to protect the labor rights and welfare of call center counselors, who are representative emotional labor workers," adding, "By holding a conference for the protection of emotional laborers and social awareness change, we will systematically prepare measures from preventing emotional damage to counselors to post-management, as well as improving citizens' awareness."