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The Effect of Sensory Processing on the Work Performance of Call Centre Agents in a South African Context The effect of sensory processing on the work performance of call centre agents in a South African context Annemarie Lombard Student Number: ARCANN002 e Town ap y of C SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN Department of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences In fulfilmentUniversit of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Occupational Therapy February 2012 Supervisor: Emeritus Associate Professor R. Watson Co-supervisor: Associate Professor M. Duncan Department of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Declaration I, Annemarie Lombard, hereby declare that the work on which this dissertation/thesis is based is my original work (except where acknowledgements indicate otherwise), and that neither the whole work nor any part of it has been, is being, or is to be submitted for another degree at this or any other university. I empower the university to reproduce for the purpose of research either the whole or any portion of the contents in any manner whatsoever. Signature: e Town ap Date: 25th May 2012 y of C Universit Introduction Page i Acknowledgements This study was an epic journey made possible by the support of so many people to whom I am forever grateful: To God, our Heavenly Father who gave me the dream, allowed me the journey, and continues to give me the strength and courage to follow it. To Eugene, my husband, for giving me the space, freedom and support to follow this dream; and Lukas and Henrick, our sons, who remained patient and devoted even though it stole so much of our family time. I am forever grateful to my mother who taught me the value of hard work and perseverance which made it possible for me to complete this study. Ruth Watson, my supervisor, who continuously challenged my thinking, but showered me with endless support and wisdom and always managed to lift me up when I felt despondent. You were certainly God‟s angel on this journey. To Madeleine Duncan, for providing support, teaching me to condense, and encouraging me all the way, and to Professor Dele Amosun, for providing valuable insight at strategic times while I was writing. Adri Winckler,e from Town post-graduate administration, managed to always provide the right advice at the rightap time and always knew the right people to contact, thank you! Theunis Kotze, the study statistician for working with me diligently for so many years and teaching me that numbers speak louder than words.y Miemie of Cilliers, C for her keen eye when capturing data; the endless cups of tea and the humour that kept us sane. Gudrun van Heukelum, for valuable peer support in reading chapters for me and Lore Kannegiesser for help with scoring of the paper based tests. My professional organiser friend, Tracey Foulkes, for providing me with valuable tips that enabled me to write, work and manage life at the same time. JustineUniversit Hooley did a great job in formatting and editing to ensure I did not mix up is/are and was/were while I had to write in my second language. Thanks to Lindi Metz from Metz Press, who took care of printing the thesis. To every liaison person of the four call centres; thank you for letting me into your worlds and for giving me all the necessary information and answers in order to understand the industry. A special thanks to each agent and manager who completed the profiling; my wish is that this study will change the industry for the better. And may we all be patient and kind to an agent voice at the end of the telephone line ……….thank you for holding! Introduction Page ii Table of Contents Declaration ............................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ................................................................................................................................ x Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................. xii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... xxiv Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................1 1.2 Sensory Processing ..................................................................................................2 1.3 Sensory Processing and Work Performance .............................................................3 1.4 Sensory Processing and the Call Centre Industry......................................................e Town 5 1.5 Background to the Study ...........................................................................................7 1.6 Assumptions..............................................................................................................ap 8 1.7 The Study Problem....................................................................................................8 1.8 Purpose of the Study.................................................................................................9 1.9 Research Questions..................................................................................................y of C 9 1.10 Aim of the Study........................................................................................................9 1.11 Study Hypotheses ...................................................................................................10 1.12 Study Objectives .....................................................................................................10 1.13 Outline of the Research Report ...............................................................................10 1.14 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................Universit 11 Chapter 2 Literature Review .......................................................................................... 12 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Framing the Literature Review................................................................................. 13 2.3 Call Centres: Industry and Workplace ..................................................................... 14 2.4 Environment Studies ............................................................................................... 24 2.5 Psychology .............................................................................................................. 30 2.6 Neuroscience .......................................................................................................... 41 2.7 Sensory Processing in Occupational Therapy ......................................................... 45 2.8 Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) fit .............................................................. 57 2.9 Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science ................................................... 62 Introduction Page iii Chapter 3 Design and Methodology .............................................................................. 64 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 64 3.2 Study Population ..................................................................................................... 66 3.3 Sampling of the Study Sites (Call Centres) .............................................................. 66 3.4 Sampling of Study Participants (Agents and Managers) .......................................... 67 3.5 Research Ethics ...................................................................................................... 69 3.6 Study Instrumentation ............................................................................................. 70 3.7 Data Collection Procedures ..................................................................................... 82 3.8 Data Capturing and Cleaning .................................................................................. 84 3.9 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 86 3.10 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 4 Results .......................................................................................................... 90 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................90
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