In the high-stakes arena of Trust & Safety, where Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies manage critical content moderation tasks, employee wellbeing is essential for operational success. Numerous studies highlight the negative impact of neglecting employee wellbeing, showing how it can lead to decreased performance, increased costs, and reputational damage. BPOs, for the most part, have invested heavily in the wellbeing of all their employees, and many have invested in specialized support for the Trust & Safety teams.
Zevo Health is proud to work with many BPOs who are putting their Trust & Safety teams’ wellbeing front and center to ensure they protect their brand, their end customers’ brand, as well as the usual issues with productivity, burnout and attrition.
Risk 1: Increased Employee Burnout and Attrition
Employee burnout has long been a problem in industries with highly emotional labor, and Trust & Safety is no exception. Content Moderators exposed to harmful material on a daily basis are at an increased risk of mental exhaustion and turnover.
The Emotional Toll of Handling Harmful Content
Research has shown that prolonged exposure to distressing content can lead to a condition similar to secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma, which can significantly impair mental health (Spence, Bifulco, Bradbury, Martellozza and DeMarco, 2023). This underscores the urgent need for proactive mental health support in BPOs handling Trust & Safety.
Costs of Constant Recruitment and Training
High turnover rates lead to significant costs associated with recruitment, training, and loss of institutional knowledge. According to a Gallup study, the cost of replacing an employee can range from half to double the employee’s annual salary. In high-stress industries like content moderation, these costs accumulate quickly.
Impact on Team Morale and Cohesion
Turnover disrupts team dynamics, with studies showing that team morale directly impacts overall productivity and cohesion. With frequent staff changes, existing employees may feel isolated or disengaged, reducing overall morale. This disconnection can further hamper productivity and performance across teams.
Risk 2: Decline in Productivity and Quality
Neglecting employee wellbeing compromises not only individuals but also the overall quality of work. Mental fatigue and stress reduce productivity, causing errors that affect the credibility of content moderation services.
Effects of Stress and Mental Fatigue on Performance
Chronic stress negatively impacts cognitive abilities like memory, concentration, and decision-making (McEwen & Sapolsky, 1995). This is particularly concerning for Content Moderators, whose role demands high levels of attention and judgment, in order to keep up the correct policy enforcement.
Increase in Moderation Errors and Oversights
Mistakes in content moderation, such as allowing inappropriate content or wrongfully removing safe content, can cause harm to a platform’s user experience. Studies show that stress-related cognitive impairments can lead to an increased likelihood of errors in high-stress work environments (Boschi et al, 2021).
Compromised Decision-Making Abilities
When mental strain becomes overwhelming, employees’ decision-making abilities are compromised. Research in organizational psychology confirms that prolonged stress reduces the ability to make sound decisions (Lerner, Li, & Valdesolo, 2015), which is critical for content moderation roles.
Risk 3: Damage to Brand Reputation and User Trust
Content moderation errors caused by stress don’t just affect internal operations—they can quickly damage a company’s public image and erode user trust.
Public Backlash from Moderation Mistakes
A study from MIT found that misinformation spreads faster than true information online. Examples abound of companies facing public outrage over moderation errors. Whether harmful content is wrongly flagged or slips through the cracks, such incidents attract media attention and social media outcry, often with damaging consequences.
Loss of User Trust in Platform Safety
Over the last five years, there has been a significant impact on the perceived trustworthiness of social media platforms, through disinformation, misinformation, transparency and more. According to a 2020 study by Edelman, trust is one of the most important factors in a company’s reputation. According to Edelman research, trusted organizations are six times more likely to benefit from consumer loyalty, seven times more likely to command a premium price and, importantly, eight times more resilient. If users feel unsafe or believe a platform is not effectively moderating content, they are likely to abandon the service.
Media Scrutiny
In today’s media landscape, moderation mistakes can go viral within hours. The speed at which issues escalate due to social media scrutiny further increases the reputational risks associated with moderation practices.
Risk 4: Legal & Compliance Issues
The legal landscape surrounding workplace mental health and content moderation is rapidly evolving. Failing to provide adequate support to employees not only jeopardizes compliance but also opens the door to lawsuits and regulatory penalties.
Violations of Workplace Mental Health Laws
In many countries, mental health is becoming a legal obligation for employers. In the U.S., for example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for mental health issues. Failure to comply with such regulations can lead to serious legal consequences.
Liability from Inadequate Content Moderation
Failure to remove harmful content could result in serious legal ramifications, including lawsuits, fines, or other regulatory actions, especially in regions with strict content laws. For example, the Digital Services Act requires VLOPs to remove illegal content in a ‘timely manner’ or risk fines and even imprisonment.
Global Focus on Employee Wellbeing
The World Health Organization has emphasized the importance of mental health in the workplace, urging employers to adopt comprehensive mental health strategies. As well as ensuring employees’ health and safety, organizations are also required to provide for their psychological safety and wellbeing. This global shift in focus makes it even more critical for BPOs to align with best practices in employee wellbeing.
Risk 5: Increased Operational Costs
Neglecting wellbeing results in various hidden costs that can strain an organization’s finances. From absenteeism to quality control expenses, these issues can become a major issue over time.
Financial Impact of High Absenteeism
Research shows that mental health issues are one of the leading causes of absenteeism, with absenteeism costing employers billions of dollars each year. According to the CIPD, mental health is one of the top causes of absenteeism in the UK, and in the US Compsych research found that 11% of all leaves of absence were due to mental health. In BPOs, where operational continuity is essential, frequent absenteeism can disrupt service delivery and impact operational costs.
Expenses from Quality Control and Corrections
Poor performance due to burnout leads to increased quality control checks and corrective actions, which require additional resources and operational bandwidth. There is much investment into AI solutions to help automate some of the moderation work, but humans will still be required to moderate certain types of content.
Long-Term Losses vs. Short-Term Gains
While not investing in wellbeing initiatives might seem like a cost-saving measure, long-term financial losses from decreased productivity, legal fees, and employee turnover can far outweigh the initial savings (Cooper & Cartwright, 1994).
How Zevo Health Sets the Standard in Employee Wellbeing
At Zevo Health, we understand the importance of employee wellbeing, particularly in high-stress environments Trust & Safety, content moderation and BPOs. Our comprehensive solutions are designed to address the unique challenges faced by Content Moderators, offering mental health support that drives long-term success – both for the individual and the organization.
Zevo Health offers a range of services tailored to BPO employees, from one-on-one therapy with group interventions, to workshops on stress reduction and resilience. These programs are proven to reduce burnout and improve overall mental health.
Proven Results in Enhancing Performance
Our clients’ employees report significant reduction in their stress levels, which we know from research leads to improvements in engagement, productivity, and content moderation accuracy.
Partnering with Zevo for Sustainable Success
We partner with a wide range of BPOs to help provide wellbeing services either onsite or digitally, and our evidence-based approach helps organizations thrive in the long term.
Wellbeing is Non-Negotiable in Trust and Safety BPOs
In the trust and safety sector, wellbeing is a critical factor for success. Ignoring the mental health needs of Content Moderators and other employees exposes organizations to unnecessary risks. Prioritizing wellbeing, as Zevo Health does, ensures sustainable success, lower costs, and a reputation for excellence.
