1. Working in Cybernetic Space:
Diasporic Indian Call Centers Workers
in the Outsourced World

2. Introduction
• This paper dives into how the Indian call
employees are in a constant struggle between
two different cultures
– Their home countries culture
– The culture of the country in which the company
originated.

3. Diaspora and cybernetic space
• The diasporic condition is often the result of the way in which people are
required to adapt to new spaces and the discourses that define those
places. Traditionally, diaspora has been used to describe the condition of
the placeless people of Jewish faith being buffeted around the globe and
always finding themselves to be ‘foreigners’ in different lands attempting
to produce a space for themselves (Tye, 2001).
• The situation could, however, be very different when there is no
movement in real space but the life in cybernetic space produces a crisis
of identity where the new diasporic might have to live in a new cybernetic
space and thus be required to learn the discourses of the new virtual
space without ever having to physically be in the other real place. This
unique and somewhat paradoxical condition has been produced by the
new form of virtual and telephonic outsourcing( Mitra, 2005).

4. Diaspora and cybernetic space
• I chose the quotes from the paper on the
previous slide because I feel they describe the
premise of what the study is all about
• How diaspora doesn’t necessarily mean a physical
movement of people but it could be a movement of
ideologies and culture.

5. Diaspora
• The Author argues that while outsourcing and
diaspora have little to do with each other, when
you look at service industries such as call centers
in fact there is a movement of culture from the
home service country to the call center.
– This is necessary in order to make the customer more
comfortable when talking to the call center
employees.
– There is a feeling of prejudice should the customer
talk to a service agent with a thick Indian accent.

6. Diaspora
• Essentially the Indian employees are leading a
double life.
• Since there is a time differential, say
between New York and Bangalore, much
of their nights are spent as members of
western society.
• As soon as their shift is over they walk
into the Indian culture of their native
country.

7. The Consequence of Virtual Diaspora
• Some researchers have considered the issue of fatigue from
psychological and sociological perspectives casting the
matter in terms of “work condition.” For instance Pradhan
and Abraham (2005) argue that the call center employees
can suffer from multiple identity disorders and other
psychiatric problems because they have to maintain two
different identities. Such disorders can lead to long-term
consequences particularly if the person continues to work
within the call center environment.
• The author argues that many of the consequences of
working in call centers can be perhaps better understood
by casting the issues within the framework of diaspora.

8. Questions
• Are the physical and mental problems really
associated with the diasporic nature of the job
or is it do to the fact that the service agents
work odd hours?
• In todays world, should the service agents be
subjected to the constant culture changes that
are forced upon them?

9. References
Tye, L. (2001). Home lands: Portraits of the new Jewish diaspora. New
York, NY: Holt and Company.
Pradhan, J. P., Abraham, V. (2005). Social and Cultural
Impact of Outsourcing: Emerging Issues from Indian
Call Centers. Harvard Asia Quarterly, 9(3), available at:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~asiactr/haq/
200502/index.htm
Mitra,Ananda, Ph.D. Working in cybernetic space:
Diasporic Indian call centers workers in the outsourced World
Department of Communication
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC 27106