Effects of Reported Neurobehavioral Symptoms on Call Center Operator Performance in the Tropics

A 2x2 balanced experiment was carried out in an air-conditioned call center in the Tropics using a blind intervention approach to study the combined effects of temperature and outdoor air supply rate. Twenty-six permanent call center operators participated in the nine-week study. Intensity of headache symptom was significantly reduced with increased outdoor air supply rate at 24.5C (P<0.03). Similar observation at P<0.04 was observed for a principal component (neurobehavioral symptoms and self-assessed productivity) derived from a set of self evaluated symptoms. Talk time performance was also significantly improved with increased fresh air provision at 24.5C (P<0.04). Principal component analysis revealed subjective association between neurobehavioral symptoms
and self-perceived performance (PC1). Correlation analysis between PC1 and mean talk time performance suggested a performance improvement of approximately 8% with reduced neurobehavioral symptoms and higher self-perceived productivity of about 16% (R2=7.3, P<0.01).