The Rapid Growth of the Call Center Industry and the Everyday Lives of Call Center Employees in the Philippines: A Critical Review of Jan M. Padios, <i>A Nation on the Line: Call Centers as Postcolonial Predicaments in the Philippines,</i> Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2018, xiv+232p. and Jeffery J. Sallaz, <i>Lives on the Line: How the Philippines Became the

Abstract

This article explores the growth of the call center industry in the Philippines and its effect on Filipino employees by critically comparing two recent books. Unlike those of the US and India, call centers in the Philippines have been relatively under-studied. More than one million Filipino employees have worked as call center agents, not only in Manila, but also in major regional cities such as Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Dumaguete. Their contribution to the Philippine economy has been decisive. Two recent books, A Nation on the Line: Call Centers as Postcolonial Predicaments in the Philippines (2018) by Jan. M. Padios and Lives on the Line: How the Philippines Became the World’s Call Center Capital (2019) by Jeffery J. Sallaz are welcome additions for understanding the Philippines’ call center industry and the lives of call center employees.