Abstract
M.A.
This dissertation explores the class identity of call centre agents in Johannesburg. My
interest in the topic arose from an apparent contradiction. On the one hand, I had read
sociological literature that had depicted such people as belonging to a ‘service
proletariat’. On the other, my experience as a student working in a call centre was that, to
the extent that the agents had a class identity, it was as members of the ‘middle class’.
While there is now a considerable body of literature on call centres, there is
relatively little on South Africa, despite that it now has the largest concentration of these
workplaces anywhere in the world. Also, research has addressed the question of class, in
terms of class position, an outsider’s assessment, rather than as class identity, the agent’s
own understanding of their location within a social hierarchy. Moreover, given that call
centres are in the forefront of globalisation, which has made possible the reorganisation
of labour processes, is it possible that they herald new class identities that tally with a
changed class structure?
In researching these issues three call centres were studied. The first was where I
worked as a normal student, but in the other I consciously undertook a participant
observation. The second call centre was where most of my scientific research was
conducted, with observation being supplemented by semi-structured interviews. The third
call centre I went through an arduous recruitment process but was ultimately rejected.
The dissertation describes the varied nature of call centre work, and it reveals agents’
thoughts about their jobs.
To my surprise I discerned two kinds of identity among the agents. The first was
the one experienced as a student. This was an identity more related to the social position
from which the agents had come and to which they aspired, both of which were generally
regarded as middle class. Work and class were not, however, an important part of the
identity of such people, who tended to be individualistic, interested in ‘having fun’ and in
‘moving on’. But there was a second identity, not encountered as a student. This was
undoubtedly a class identity, and some agents even described themselves in terms similar
to ‘service proletariat’. Whereas there was little commitment to the particular call centre,
there was recognition that call centre employment was a long-term option.
Significantly, whilst the first identity was strongly associated with the agents who
were ‘temps’, the second was coupled with those who were ‘permanent’. I argue that
these associations were not only linked to the kind of contract that had been signed, but
also to length of service, time spent at work and the nature of work undertaken, pay and
conditions, age and family responsibilities, and expectations of future employment. So,
then, the theory of service proletariat is not rejected, and, indeed, permanent agents had
an identity related to this class position. However, a nuanced assessment of the class
identity must recognise the significance of an agent’s commitment to working in a call
centre, with many agents only employed on a temporary basis.