Still on shared collective experiences of a generation, have you ever visited The Watering Hole near Shangrila Mall along EDSA at 6:30 in the morning?
I chanced upon it one morning a few weeks back, and saw that they had a not-too-spectacular, get-what-you-pay-for, all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. All the tables were occupied, but the people there - mostly in their early 20s - were not there for the buffet. No, they were there for the beer – San Miguel, San Mig Lite, Red Horse and Super Dry. At a time when most of us would still be asleep!
They did not seem to be from one group, and it finally dawned on me that these young folk were probably call center agents at the end of their shift. 6:30 a.m. was the end of their day, and they were simply unwinding just like many of us do in the early evening of each workday.
Indeed, visit UP, and you will find that many students there also work in call centers. They earn quite a substantial amount, it seems. The downside is that many of them are often too tired to attend, much less do well in class, and quite a few have simply dropped out.
I don’t have any numbers but my guess is that many, if not most, college students would – if not they themselves – have friends who work in call centers and other similar facilities.
If you want to understand today’s youth, you could do worse than starting with a look at today’s call center culture.
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