Grey Space: Call Centres and the Information Society

Abstract

Over the past decade, call centres have become a rising industry in contemporary globalized society, particularly in smaller towns and economically underdeveloped areas. The call centre industry has been both praised and contested by commentators throughout its development. Various theorists see call centres as saviors of suffering economies while others view them as modern production lines—unfulfilling and monotonous places representative of a business model that will not endure. This paper attempts to frame the call centre within the evolving concept of the information society to better understand its advantages and disadvantages and to investigate the changing nature of work in such a society.