Safe Travel Awareness of Call Center Agents in Riding Public Utility Vehicles in Iloilo City

during COVID-19

INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It

can spread from person to person through droplets released by a person infected through
coughing, sneezing, or talking. It can also spread by touching a surface with the virus on it and
then touching one’s mouth, nose, or eyes (NCI, 2020). As the Philippine Government enacted
travel restrictions on the country in response to the spread of COVID-19, many places in the
country had acted upon it and also implemented some additions to the National Health and
Safety Protocol during the pandemic to adjust to the needs and situation of their provinces and
cities.

The spread of the virus rapidly increases because of the movement of the people. The
vast majority of people who get infected are mostly employees because they will need to go to
their workplace and not much of the employees are working at home. Call center agents are in
much risk of acquiring the virus because of their strenuous work environment and schedule their
immunity is being compromised and thus they are more susceptible to be infected by COVID-19.
To prevent themselves from being infected by COVID-19 and other communicable diseases it
will start off from their awareness and preparedness to fight off the possible infection.

Passengers should be wearing face masks and face shields inside a public jeepney. To
ensure pursue economic activity in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government
implemented some safety protocols for drivers, passengers and operators of public utility
vehicles. Afterwards, the Department of Transportation and its agencies launch the moderate
reopening of public transportation while keeping health protocols like mandated wearing of face
masks and shields, no eating no talking, proper ventilation, disinfection, limiting passengers with
Covid-19 symptoms, and physical distancing.

Call center agents are considered as frontliners. They work at night or graveyard shift
their immune system are not much stronger hence they are vulnerable in terms of virus.
Specifically if they use to ride in public utility vehicles they encounter different people which
may be COVID-19 positive. The human resources (HR) have to find an alternative way such as
providing a shuttle van service so that call center agents can lessen their exposure to public
utility vehicles, as well as they could save their fare costs and lessen the carbon footprint.
Employees are safer since the shuttle bus that will be provided was exclusive only for center
employees, unlike Public Utility transportation that consisted of different passengers who are
possibly virus carriers (PNA, Dela Cruz, 2020).

Raja (2014) Almost all call center employees work at times when they would usually be
sleeping, this could be a threat to an individual's circadian rhythm since the sleep-wake internal
clock setting is at oppositional defiant disorder with the sleep-wake cycle of the shift schedule
eventually resulting in circadian rhythm sleeping disorders. More than half of workers on the
night shift are unable to sleep adequately during the daytime and consequently may come into
cumulative sleep debt leading to notable sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can stimulate
complications with their health as it can result in fatigue, depression, decreased cognitive
functioning, impaired vigilance, and a predisposition to infections. This shows that most call
center agents are vulnerable to any sort of infection due to a weak immune system.

Suri (2007) In a study conducted in Delhi-NCR, 51.4% of BPO employees were found to
be sleepier as compared with 20.5% of non-BPO workers. (Kunikullaya, 2010) Another study
from Bangalore reiterates that sleepiness was significantly higher among night shift workers as
compared with day shift workers in BPOs. It also revealed a startling finding that night shift
workers have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease as compared with day shift
workers.

This study aims to determine the safe travel awareness of call center agents in Inspiro and
Startek BPO Companies in riding public utility vehicles in Iloilo City during Covid-19. To
determine how call center agents make ways to protect themselves when travelling, to examine
how call center agents managed to follow the safety protocol of the City of Iloilo when it comes
to travelling, and to identify what other means of transportation going to work can help call
center agents be surely secured.
 SOURCES (include the complete
bibliographical data using APA Style)
National Cancer Institute. Publications. disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It can
NCI Dictionaries. COVID-19. Retrieved spread from person to person through droplets
from
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictio sneezing, or talking. It can also spread by touching
naries/cancer-terms/def/covid-19
Dela Cruz R. (2020). Philippine News
Agency. Riding out coronavirus pandemic.
Retrieved from
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125983
Raja J. and Bhasin S. (2014). National
Center for Biotechnology Information.
Journal Lis. tIndian J Community
Medicine. Health Issues Amongst Call
Center Employees, An Emerging
Occupational Group in India. Retrieved
from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC4134534/
Suri JC, Sen MK, Singh P, Kumar R,
Aggarwal P. Sleep patterns and their
impact on lifestyle, anxiety and depression
DESCRIPTION (Annotation)
COVID-19 is a highly infectious respiratory
released by a person infected through coughing,
a surface with the virus on it and then touching
one’s mouth, nose, or eyes (NCI, 2020)
The human resources (HR) have to find an
alternative way such as providing a shuttle van
service so that call center agents can lessen their
exposure to public utility vehicles, as well as they
could save their fare costs and lessen the carbon
footprint. Employees are safer since the shuttle bus
that will be provided was exclusive only for center
employees, unlike Public Utility transportation
that consisted of different passengers who are
possibly virus carriers
Almost all call center employees work at times
when they would usually be sleeping, this could be
a threat to an individual's circadian rhythm since
the sleep-wake internal clock setting is at
oppositional defiant disorder with the sleep-wake
cycle of the shift schedule eventually resulting in
circadian rhythm sleeping disorders. More than
half of workers on the night shift are unable to
sleep adequately during the daytime and
consequently may come into cumulative sleep debt
leading to notable sleep deprivation. Sleep
deprivation can stimulate complications with their
health as it can result in fatigue, depression,
decreased cognitive functioning, impaired
vigilance, and a predisposition to infections. This
shows that most call center agents are vulnerable
to any sort of infection due to a weak immune
system.
In a study conducted in Delhi-NCR, 51.4% of
BPO employees were found to be sleepier as
compared with 20.5% of non-BPO workers.
in BPO workers. Indian J Sleep Med.
2007;2:64–70. Retrieved from

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_
lookup?
journal=Indian+J+Sleep+Med&title=Sleep
+patterns+and+their+impact+on+lifestyle,
+anxiety+and+depression+in+BPO+worke
rs

Kunikullaya K (2010), Kirthi SK,
Venkatesh D. Heart rate variability changes
in business process outsourcing employees
working in shifts. Indian Pacing
Electrophysiol J. 2010;10:439–46.
Retrieved from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21151382
/
Another study from Bangalore reiterates that
sleepiness was significantly higher among night
shift workers as compared with day shift workers
in BPOs. It also revealed a startling finding that
night shift workers have an increased risk of
developing cardiovascular disease as compared
with day shift workers.

Course & Year: BS in Nutrition and Dietetics 2

Subject: English 4 – Technical Writing
Instructor: Ma’am Michelle Bayaua

Group Members:
Liamar Grace Defiño
Ken Donguines
Jemimah Lustre