Cognitive and Emotional Load Influence Response Time of Service Agents: A Large Scale Analysis of Chat Service Conversations

We highlight two psychological aspects of the load in service work -- cognitive load (amount of information customers present) and emotional load (emotions customers present), and examine their effects on response time of service agents, in service conversations conducted using text-based chats. Using operational data of 145,995 chat service conversations, we show that cognitive load and emotional load increase agent response time both between and within service conversations. Our analyses unpack common assumptions that number of customers is identical to amount of work load, and shed light on customer-agent dynamics both between and within service conversations. In using operational data for studying text-based service communication, which is rapidly expanding and insufficiently studied, we open up exciting opportunities for further research

Affect-as-Information: Customer and Employee Affective Displays as Expeditious Predictors of Customer Satisfaction

10.1177/10946705231194076JOURNAL OF SERVICE RESEARC

The effectiveness of the smoking cessation telephone quitline service in Clalit Health Services, Israel

Background and challenges to implementation Smoking cessation workshops were added to the Israel Basket of Health Services in 2010, however a quitline service wasn´t included. In 2013 Clalit Health Services established a pilot project testing a proactive counseling quitline. The service includes six individual counseling provided by cessation counselors, offered in five languages, tailored and cultural adapted. The service is free of charge, participants are given instructions about cessation medication and a tool kit is send by mail. Intervention or response Goals: To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, in terms of smoking cessation and maintenance; understand the barriers to smoking cessation and the reasons for dropping out before the end of the process; understand the factors that drive success for improvement and adaptation of the quitline, according to a needs assessment. Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted among 400 participants who received counseling, using a structured questionnaire, one year following counseling. Results and lessons learnt Counseling was provided mainly in Hebrew (75%), Russian and Arabic. Of the participants who completed the counseling- 77.7% quit smoking and with a one-year continuous abstinence rate of 39.2%. A significant correlation was found between the duration of participation in telephone counseling and the rate of smoking following one year (p< 0.001). Cessation was associated with education and income (p=0.02 and p=0.03, respectively). Among those who relapsed, 50% relapsed within 3 months, due to stress, tension and life/family problems (55%). Telephone consultation was noted as the leading factor for cessation and maintenance (74%). About 90% expressed "satisfaction" to "high-satisfaction" with the quitline. Conclusions and key recommendations This service provides an effective method for cessation and complements the workshops. The results suggest the need to examine reasons for dropout and relapse prevention, such as adding periodical support. In addition, special populations were identified as in need of more intensive support. It´s important to include quitline in the Israel basket of health services

The ethics of suicide research online: a consensual protocol for crowdsourcing-based studies on suicide

Suicide, one of the top causes of life lost in developed countries, is a major health problem, especially today, with the dramatic increase in mental health difficulties that was triggered during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Opportunely, the recent emergence of internet-based crowdsourcing platforms (e.g., Amazon’s Mechanical Turk) may accelerate research on suicide prevention, however, this type of suicide research online involves a difficult ethical challenge: how to keep participants’ safe without compromising their privacy. To address this ethical challenge, a consortium of experts from multiple research institutions was assembled. The consortium discussed the advantages and disadvantages for participants involved in crowdsourcing-based studies that address suicide risk. This discussion resulted in a consensual step-by-step protocol for researchers who wish to conduct suicide research online, using the crowdsourcing platforms. This article provides a detailed description of the protocol and outlines key ethical arguments that led to its formulation. Unresolved issues are discussed as well and other researchers are encouraged to implement the proposed protocol and suggest further improvements. It is our hope that the current protocol will facilitate the research on large and diverse populations online and thus contribute to the global efforts to reduce suicide rates around the world