B10.5
Tracks
Stream B
| Saturday, October 31, 2026 |
| 2:45 PM - 3:00 PM |
Overview
Barriers and facilitators of health promotion initiatives and behaviours in contact centre workers: a review | 15 mins
Presenter
Dr Charlotte Brakenridge
Griffith University
Barriers and facilitators of health promotion initiatives and behaviours in contact centre workers: a review
2:45 PM - 3:00 PMAbstract
Contact and call centre workers experience high stress, poor nutrition, musculoskeletal complaints and voice issues (Boini et al., 2021; Mathur et al., 2015; Moreira-Silva et al., 2021; Nair et al., 2024). Health promotion and wellbeing initiatives in contact centres are vital, yet implementation is challenging because of factors such as high workloads and limited opportunities to participate in interventions (Allexandre et al., 2016; Axtell & Holman, 2018; Morris et al., 2021). The aim of this review was to explore the barriers and facilitators of health promotion initiatives and healthy behaviours in contact centre workers.
A systematic review was conducted using seven academic databases and Google up to October 2024. Eligible studies included contact centre workers or other key stakeholders (e.g., managers). Twenty-one intervention, 33 observational and 24 grey literature reports met inclusion criteria. Target behaviours for health promotion initiatives included stress, physical activity, and musculoskeletal issues. Barriers and facilitators were categorised using an ecological model (e.g., individual, psychosocial, physical, organisational levels).
The main barriers to participating in health promotion were psychosocial work characteristics (e.g., high and unpredictable workloads, monitoring, low job control, shift work), unhealthy organisational cultures and low worker motivation. Facilitators included colleague and manager support and offline time to participate in the interventions. Individual education sessions, wellbeing breaks, and group-based programs were acceptable. COVID-19 acted as both a barrier and facilitator: the pandemic increased worker isolation and decreased motivation to participate in interventions and was also a catalyst for some workplaces to improve their wellbeing support. Overall, there is scope to improve the initiation and delivery of health promotion in contact centre settings. Organisational buy-in and manager and worker involvement are integral to support healthy behaviours at work.
A systematic review was conducted using seven academic databases and Google up to October 2024. Eligible studies included contact centre workers or other key stakeholders (e.g., managers). Twenty-one intervention, 33 observational and 24 grey literature reports met inclusion criteria. Target behaviours for health promotion initiatives included stress, physical activity, and musculoskeletal issues. Barriers and facilitators were categorised using an ecological model (e.g., individual, psychosocial, physical, organisational levels).
The main barriers to participating in health promotion were psychosocial work characteristics (e.g., high and unpredictable workloads, monitoring, low job control, shift work), unhealthy organisational cultures and low worker motivation. Facilitators included colleague and manager support and offline time to participate in the interventions. Individual education sessions, wellbeing breaks, and group-based programs were acceptable. COVID-19 acted as both a barrier and facilitator: the pandemic increased worker isolation and decreased motivation to participate in interventions and was also a catalyst for some workplaces to improve their wellbeing support. Overall, there is scope to improve the initiation and delivery of health promotion in contact centre settings. Organisational buy-in and manager and worker involvement are integral to support healthy behaviours at work.
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Dr Brakenridge is a research fellow at the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing at Griffith University. Dr Brakenridge explores how work impacts health and how to improve worker health through workplace interventions. Her expertise spans both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, enabling comprehensive evaluation of how to improve worker health and wellbeing. She has conducted both interventions and exploratory studies in varied workplace contexts, with recent works published in international journals Work & Stress and Safety Science.
