You may be wondering why some customer service representatives (more
commonly known as call center agents) say their job is Tiring,
Stagnant and Toxic. Though a help desk assistant such as these people
enjoy a high salary commensurate to their skills, and are even
provided valuable health benefits and vacation leaves too, some still
do not consider this compensation enough motivation for them to
continue working as a help desk assistant.

In the US alone, help desks or call centers were able to create 5
million jobs back in the 1990s. That was when call center jobs
became some of the most sought-after jobs in the world. However,
because the nature of the work of a help desk assistant demands
flexible working hours, graveyard shifts, and willingness to work
even on holidays, this places a significant burden on employees
(who already have to solve difficult problems for callers).

There are call centers that simply shut down eventually for various
reasons. For instance, some help desk assistants did not undergo
further training after being employed by the call center – this
resulted in stagnation of their communication skills. Others lost
their enthusiasm for their work after doing the same duties for the
employer day-in, day-out. Some customer representatives resent being
called agents. Time pressure may affect the performance of agents who
are already trying to match standards for technical skills set by
their company. All this can be very stressful for the employee whose
performance may deteriorate into unsolved calls and bad customer
service.

Attrition of call center representatives is a sign of severe pressure
from the working conditions which may result in mental instability.
Trying to calm down enraged callers everyday, and having to maintain
long working hours, can really affect your self esteem after awhile.
Even if the help desk assistant has superlative skills for problem
solving in technical matters, some callers just do not respect call
center agents. Dealing with rude ill-mannered callers is common
throughout the job description of all types of help desk assistants.

Perhaps the key to preventing attrition is to amend company standards
so that call center agents will feel better about themselves and
their work rather than pressuring help desk assistants to adhere to
very high (perhaps unreachable) company standards in customer
service.