Labor organization and employment relations in Italian call centers during the crisis

The article deals with labor relations and organization within call centers in Italy. In particular, by considering the ongoing significant social, political and economic changes, the impact of the financial crisis, the restructuring process of industries as well as the great diffusion of enterprises within the service sector, it becomes particularly interesting to look at inside organizational processes and labor practices within call centers. The paper aims to contribute to the sociological debate on labor within this new form of organization and on its impact on the so called knowledge economy. Using data from a recent research carried out with 1.715 operators in 19 Italian private and public call centers located in four areas of the country, we explore the role and characteristics of the workers, human resource strategies and employment relations, drawing also attention to the impact of different contexts on labor organization and practices.