Ethnographie des centres d’appels au Sénégal : des temporalités en crise ?

Abstract

Studying a facet of a society implies being attentive to your daily life, especially at work. Today, work has established itself as a central value in our contemporary societies and has become an important source of identity building. It is undergoing profound changes, particularly in the customer relations sector. Our longitudinal study is based on qualitative data collection methods in two Dakar call centers and on the content analysis method. It shows that the work of call center agents is being distorted and transformed because of the conditions in which it is carried out against a background of rationalization and intensification. The work of call center agents is no longer the dream of the early days 20 years ago; the euphoria has given way to disillusionment. Behind technological developments and relocations, there are hidden labor clashes and misfortunes affecting the worker and his society: acculturation, poor management of human resources and working conditions.