Nearly one in three contact center agents (31%) say they are likely to leave their current role within the next six months, according to Verint’s survey of 1,000 agents in centers with at least 300 seats (Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026). That intent lines up with what operators report: UK contact centres averaged 31.2% annual agent turnover in the latest benchmark, up from 30.2% a year earlier (MaxContact, 2025/6 UK Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report), and 59% of agents in a 951-person survey scored at risk of burnout (Toister Solutions, 2023). The pressure is not only internal: 43% of UK customer-facing workers faced customer hostility in the previous six months (Institute of Customer Service, Service with Respect, June 2025). For the operating context behind these numbers, see our call center industry statistics. We aggregated data from Verint, Calabrio, Gartner, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Gallup, ContactBabel, MaxContact, the Institute of Customer Service, Cavell Group, a PLoS One systematic review and other primary sources listed in the methodology.
TL;DR
- 31% of contact center agents are likely to leave their role within six months (Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026).
- 46% of agents aged 18 to 34 plan to leave within six months, versus 8% of agents aged 45+ (Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026).
- 31.2% average annual agent turnover in UK contact centres, up from 30.2% in 2024 (MaxContact, 2025/6 UK KPI Benchmarking Report).
- 54% of US contact centers run attrition between 21% and over 50% (ContactBabel, 2024 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide).
- 59% of agents are at risk of burnout, 28% at severe risk (Toister Solutions, agent burnout survey 2023).
- Only 11% of agents say their job is not very stressful (Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026).
- 35% of agents considering leaving cite burnout and stress, the number one reason (Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026).
- 52.6% of UK contact centres report rising agent workload, up from 42% in 2024 (MaxContact, 2025/6 UK KPI Benchmarking Report).
- 43% of UK customer-facing workers faced customer hostility in the past six months (Institute of Customer Service, June 2025).
- 77.9% of surveyed Korean call center workers experienced verbal abuse (Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, 2024).
- 55% of North American agents say task volume and complexity rose after AI was introduced (Cavell Group, Agent Experience Report Q3 2025).
- 63% of service leaders are cutting frontline headcount gradually through attrition (Gartner survey of 321 leaders, April 2026).
- 289,500 US customer service representative openings projected per year through 2035, all from replacement (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
1. Turnover Rates: How Fast the Agent Floor Empties
Turnover in contact centers has settled at a level most industries would treat as a crisis. UK contact centres averaged 31.2% annual agent turnover in MaxContact’s latest benchmark of 300 decision makers, up from 30.2% in 2024 (MaxContact report via Customer Experience Live). In practical terms, a 300-seat floor replaces close to a third of its people every year, and every replacement starts at the bottom of the learning curve.
The US picture is wider rather than better. ContactBabel’s 2024 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide found that 54% of contact centers run attrition between 21% and over 50%, and nearly 80% said attrition had increased or not materially changed (ICMI, citing ContactBabel). The current rates are still well below the pandemic-era peak: a Five9 and ICMI study of 313 professionals reported 58% average agent turnover in 2021 (Five9). Academic work confirms the gap with the wider labour market: a 2024 PLoS One review cites 21% turnover in UK contact centres against a 15% UK average, and 3.7% sickness absence against 1.9% (Bell et al., PLoS One 2024).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average annual agent turnover, UK contact centres | 31.2% (30.2% in 2024) | MaxContact, 2025/6 UK Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report |
| US contact centers with attrition between 21% and over 50% | 54% | ContactBabel, 2024 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide |
| US centers saying attrition increased or did not change | Nearly 80% | ContactBabel, 2024 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide |
| Contact centre turnover vs UK average | 21% vs 15% | Bell et al., PLoS One systematic scoping review, 2024 |
| Contact centre sickness absence vs UK average | 3.7% vs 1.9% | Bell et al., PLoS One systematic scoping review, 2024 |
| Share of the UK working population employed in contact centres | Over 4% | Bell et al., PLoS One systematic scoping review, 2024 |
| Average agent turnover, pandemic-era baseline | 58% (2021) | Five9 and ICMI study, July 2021 (most recent available data of its kind) |
Context note: turnover definitions vary. MaxContact and ContactBabel ask managers for annual figures, while the PLoS One review draws on earlier published studies; we keep each figure with its own label rather than averaging them.
2. Intent to Leave: Who Is Heading for the Exit
Intent-to-quit surveys show where the next wave of attrition will come from. 31% of agents told Verint they are likely to leave within six months, and the figure jumps to 46% among agents aged 18 to 34, against just 8% of agents aged 45 and older (Verint press release, April 2026; age split via No Jitter). Because 41% of the sample was 18 to 34, the young cohort is both the largest and the least stable part of the workforce.
The reasons are operational, not mysterious. Verint’s respondents named unrealistic performance expectations (47%) and lack of schedule flexibility (45%) as their top frustrations, and nine in ten said flexibility matters when choosing a job. Verint estimates that attrition in a 1,000-agent center can cost more than $6 million a year (Verint blog, State of Agent Experience 2026). India’s voice processes show the same pattern on a different labour market: CIEL HR puts voice-role attrition at 30 to 35% with an average tenure of 8 to 10 months (Storyboard18, citing CIEL HR, July 2025).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agents likely to leave within six months | 31% | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Agents aged 18 to 34 planning to leave within six months | 46% (vs 8% of agents 45+) | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Top frustration: unrealistic performance expectations | 47% | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Top frustration: lack of schedule flexibility | 45% | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Voice-role attrition in India’s BPM sector | 30 to 35% | CIEL HR, BPM sector report, July 2025 |
| Average tenure in Indian voice roles | 8 to 10 months | CIEL HR, BPM sector report, July 2025 |
| Voice roles as share of active Indian BPM job openings | 26% | CIEL HR, BPM sector report, July 2025 |
Context note: Verint surveyed 1,000 agents in centers with at least 300 agents across insurance, telecom, banking and financial services, retail and BPO, with fieldwork from November 18 to December 9, 2025; 59% worked in centers of 1,000+ agents. The $6 million figure is a vendor model, not a measured cost.
3. Burnout and Stress: How Many Agents Are Running on Empty
Burnout data for agents is thinner than turnover data, but the surveys that exist point the same way. Jeff Toister’s survey of 951 agents scored 59% at risk of burnout, including 28% at severe risk, using the MindTools self-assessment scale (Toister Solutions). That was an improvement on 74% in his 2016 study, which suggests better scheduling and remote work helped, but it still means the typical agent is closer to burnout than not. Most recent available data: Toister Solutions, January to February 2023.
Calabrio’s Voice of the Agent report, which covered more than 500 agents in Europe and, for the first time, North America, finds that only 11% of agents describe their role as not very stressful, and 35% of those considering leaving cite burnout and stress, the top reason (CX Today, citing Calabrio). The same report shows real improvements in support, which makes the stress number harder to dismiss: 75% feel supported on work-life balance, up from 67%, yet only 52% received a pay increase, down from 79% in the prior edition (iTWire, Calabrio release). Ticket targets are a named trigger: 75% of retail customer service workers in a Censuswide poll for DigitalGenius said daily or weekly targets increase their stress (CX Dive). The broader picture across professions is in our workplace burnout statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agents at risk of burnout (at risk or severe) | 59% | Toister Solutions, agent burnout survey, 2023 |
| Agents at severe risk of burnout | 28% | Toister Solutions, agent burnout survey, 2023 |
| Agents at risk of burnout, earlier study | 74% (2016) | Toister Solutions, 2016 study |
| Agents who say their job is not very stressful | 11% | Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026 |
| Agents considering leaving who cite burnout and stress | 35% (top reason) | Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026 |
| Agents who received a pay increase | 52% (down from 79%) | Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026 |
| Workers who say daily or weekly ticket targets increase stress | 75% | Censuswide for DigitalGenius, May 2024 |
| Workers saying job pressure affects mental wellbeing | More than 80% | Censuswide for DigitalGenius, May 2024 |
Context note: Calabrio’s report also contains good news, including 75% of agents who would recommend contact center work to a friend and 47% who now see it as a long-term career. Burnout and pride coexist in the same workforce, which is why averages hide the risk concentrated in specific teams.
4. Workload, Schedules and the Shape of the Job
Workload is the mechanism that converts stress into resignations. 52.6% of UK contact centres report increased agent workload, up from 42% in 2024 (MaxContact, 2025/6 UK Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report). The calls themselves are getting longer: ContactBabel’s 2025 US Decision-Makers’ Guide found the typical service call now takes over seven minutes, 38% longer than when it began tracking the metric in 2012, and live telephony still handles 62% of inbound interactions (Contact Center Pipeline, citing ContactBabel).
Much of the extra time is friction rather than conversation. Verint found that in 45% of calls agents spend about three minutes searching for answers, and 54% of calls require after-call work. Salesforce’s sixth State of Service survey of more than 5,500 service professionals found agents spend just 39% of their time actually servicing customers (CX Today, citing Salesforce). Schedule control is the other lever: Calabrio found half of agents do not feel they control their schedules, and 59% say the ability to work from home shapes their career decisions. Our remote work statistics track how that preference plays out across the wider workforce.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK contact centres reporting increased agent workload | 52.6% (42% in 2024) | MaxContact, 2025/6 UK Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report |
| Typical US service call duration | Over 7 minutes, 38% longer than 2012 | ContactBabel, 2025 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide |
| Live telephony share of inbound interactions | 62% | ContactBabel, 2025 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide |
| Calls where agents search for answers | 45% (about 3 minutes each) | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Calls requiring after-call work | 54% | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Share of agent time spent servicing customers | 39% | Salesforce, State of Service, sixth edition (2024) |
| Agents who do not feel in control of their schedules | 50% | Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026 |
| Web chats that need another channel, usually the phone, to resolve | About 22% | ContactBabel, 2025 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide |
5. Customer Abuse: The Occupational Hazard Nobody Budgets For
Contact center work carries a form of exposure that most office jobs do not: a steady stream of angry callers. 43% of UK customer-facing workers experienced customer hostility in the previous six months, a rise of close to 20% year on year, and 37% are considering leaving their jobs because of aggressive customer behaviour (Institute of Customer Service, Service with Respect). Of those who experienced abuse, 26% took time off as a result, averaging eight days of sick leave. That is a direct line from abuse to the absence and turnover figures in section 1.
South Korea, which passed a law in 2018 to protect emotional labourers, shows how far legislation alone goes. A Korean Confederation of Trade Unions survey of 790 call center workers between May 28 and June 3, 2024 found 77.9% had experienced verbal abuse, 12.8% sexual harassment and 60.1% repeated complaints, and 91.2% said they simply endure aggressive complaints on their own (Korea Herald).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK customer-facing workers facing hostility in the past six months | 43% (up close to 20% year on year) | Institute of Customer Service, Service with Respect, June 2025 |
| Customer service workers considering leaving due to aggression | 37% | Institute of Customer Service, Service with Respect, June 2025 |
| Abused workers who took time off | 26% (average 8 days) | Institute of Customer Service, Service with Respect, June 2025 |
| Share of UK workforce in customer-facing roles | About 60% | Institute of Customer Service, Service with Respect |
| Korean call center workers who experienced verbal abuse | 77.9% | Korean Confederation of Trade Unions survey, 2024 |
| Korean call center workers reporting sexual harassment | 12.8% | Korean Confederation of Trade Unions survey, 2024 |
| Korean call center workers who endure aggressive complaints alone | 91.2% | Korean Confederation of Trade Unions survey, 2024 |
Context note: the Institute of Customer Service figures cover all UK customer-facing staff (retail, public services, financial services, transport), not contact centres alone. The Korean survey is a union poll, not a random sample.
6. AI, Headcount and the Labour Market Around Agents
AI was sold as relief for agents; so far it mostly changes what the hard part of the job is. 55% of North American agents told Cavell Group their task volume and complexity increased since AI was deployed, and nearly half worry about AI replacing part of their role (No Jitter, citing Cavell Group). Leaders see it too: 75% of North American contact center leaders believe AI investments may be increasing agent stress (Omdia, 2025 Digital CX Survey, via CMSWire). When bots take the easy contacts, humans get the escalations, and the occupancy of difficult minutes goes up. Our customer service AI statistics and voice agent automation statistics cover the deployment side.
Headcount is shrinking slowly, mostly by not replacing people who quit. A Gartner survey of 321 service leaders found 63% are reducing frontline headcount gradually through attrition, 85% are adding new responsibilities to agent roles, and 31% have implemented or plan AI-driven layoffs through 1Q27 (Gartner, April 2026); only 20% had actually reduced staffing due to AI as of late 2025 (Gartner, December 2025). The BLS projects US customer service representative jobs to fall 5% from 2,666,000 in 2025 to 2,524,100 in 2035, yet still expects about 289,500 openings a year, all from replacement (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Turnover, in other words, is the main way the occupation shrinks.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agents reporting higher task volume and complexity since AI | 55% | Cavell Group, North American Agent Experience Report Q3 2025 |
| Agents worried AI will replace part of their role | Nearly half | Cavell Group, North American Agent Experience Report Q3 2025 |
| North American leaders who think AI may increase agent stress | 75% | Omdia, 2025 Digital CX Survey |
| Service leaders adding new responsibilities to agent roles | 85% | Gartner, survey of 321 leaders, April 2026 |
| Agents who have received no AI-related training | 40% | Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026 |
| Service leaders reducing frontline headcount through attrition | 63% | Gartner, survey of 321 leaders (Sep to Oct 2025), April 2026 |
| Service leaders with AI-driven layoffs implemented or planned through 1Q27 | 31% | Gartner, survey of 321 leaders, April 2026 |
| US customer service representative jobs | 2,666,000 (2025) to 2,524,100 (2035), -5% | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook |
| Projected annual openings, US customer service representatives | About 289,500 | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook |
| Median hourly wage, customer service representatives | $21.53 (business support services: $17.68) | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 |
The wider labour market explains why agents can leave at all. US quits have cooled: the annual average monthly quits rate fell to 2.0% in 2025 from 2.8% in 2022, with professional and business services at 2.3%, retail trade at 2.6% and finance and insurance at 1.3% (BLS JOLTS, Table 22). Globally, 52% of employees say it is a good time to find a job, but only 47% in the US and Canada, down 10 points, and the region reports the world’s highest daily stress at 50% against a 40% global average (Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026). Global engagement fell to 20% in 2025 (Gallup global data).
Summary: Call Center Agent Turnover and Burnout by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agents likely to leave within six months | 31% | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Agents 18 to 34 likely to leave within six months | 46% | Verint, State of Agent Experience 2026 |
| Average annual agent turnover, UK contact centres | 31.2% | MaxContact, 2025/6 UK KPI Benchmarking Report |
| US centers with attrition between 21% and over 50% | 54% | ContactBabel, 2024 US Decision-Makers’ Guide |
| Contact centre vs UK average turnover | 21% vs 15% | Bell et al., PLoS One 2024 |
| Contact centre vs UK average sickness absence | 3.7% vs 1.9% | Bell et al., PLoS One 2024 |
| Agents at risk of burnout | 59% (28% severe) | Toister Solutions, 2023 |
| Global employee engagement | 20% (2025) | Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026 |
| Burnout and stress as top reason to consider leaving | 35% | Calabrio, Voice of the Agent, January 2026 |
| UK centres reporting rising agent workload | 52.6% | MaxContact, 2025/6 UK KPI Benchmarking Report |
| Share of agent time spent servicing customers | 39% | Salesforce, State of Service, sixth edition |
| UK customer-facing workers facing hostility (six months) | 43% | Institute of Customer Service, June 2025 |
| Workers considering leaving due to customer aggression | 37% | Institute of Customer Service, June 2025 |
| Korean call center workers verbally abused | 77.9% | Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, 2024 |
| Agents reporting more complex work since AI | 55% | Cavell Group, Q3 2025 |
| Leaders who think AI may increase agent stress | 75% | Omdia, 2025 Digital CX Survey |
| Service leaders shrinking headcount through attrition | 63% | Gartner, April 2026 |
| US customer service representative jobs, 2025 to 2035 | -5% (289,500 openings a year) | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook |
| Indian voice-role attrition | 30 to 35% (tenure 8 to 10 months) | CIEL HR, July 2025 |
| Daily stress, US and Canada employees | 50% (global 40%) | Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure was traced to the organization that ran the survey or published the dataset. Where the original page blocked automated access (Gartner, Business Wire) or sat behind a form (ContactBabel, Calabrio, NICE), we used the publisher’s press release or trade-press coverage that names the original report, and say so below. Widely repeated blog figures without a primary document, such as the ‘87% of agents report high stress’ and ‘30-45% average turnover’ claims, were excluded.
- Verint: State of Agent Experience 2026 press release, report blog, part 2, age breakdown via No Jitter
- Calabrio: Voice of the Agent (January 2026) via iTWire release and CX Today
- MaxContact: 2025/6 UK Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report via Customer Experience Live
- ContactBabel: 2024 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide via ICMI; 2025 US guide via Contact Center Pipeline
- Bell et al., systematic scoping review of health interventions for contact centre employees, PLoS One 2024
- Five9 and ICMI: workforce study, July 2021
- Toister Solutions: contact center agent burnout survey (951 agents, 2023)
- Censuswide for DigitalGenius (May 2024) via CX Dive
- Salesforce State of Service, sixth edition, via CX Today
- Institute of Customer Service: Service with Respect (June 2025 research)
- Korean Confederation of Trade Unions survey via Korea Herald (June 2024)
- Cavell Group: North American Agent Experience Report Q3 2025 via No Jitter
- Omdia: 2025 Digital CX Survey via CMSWire
- Gartner: April 2026 survey press release, December 2025 press release
- CIEL HR BPM sector report (July 2025) via Storyboard18
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook, customer service representatives, JOLTS Table 22, annual average quits rates
- Gallup: State of the Global Workplace 2026, global data and regional data
- Data watch: There is no single official agent turnover rate. Manager-reported benchmarks (MaxContact 31.2% UK, ContactBabel’s US distribution) and academic figures (21% UK) differ by definition and sample, so we report each separately. The Toister burnout survey (2023), the Korean union survey (2024), the Censuswide poll (2024), the PLoS One review’s underlying turnover and absence figures and the Five9 and ICMI study (2021) are older than the 2026 dataset or rest on earlier data; the 2021 figure is shown only as a historical baseline. Gartner and Business Wire pages returned 403 errors during research, so Gartner figures were confirmed through the press release titles, search excerpts and syndicated coverage. The BLS handbook now shows 2025 to 2035 projections; the prior 2024 to 2034 edition projected a 153,700-job decline and about 341,700 openings a year. The JOLTS figure is an annual average of monthly quits rates and does not isolate call centers. The Omdia stat was read through CMSWire, and Verint’s $6 million cost estimate is a vendor model. Institute of Customer Service data covers all customer-facing roles, not contact centres alone.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when ContactBabel publishes its 2026 US Contact Center Decision-Makers’ Guide and MaxContact releases its 2026/7 UK Contact Centre KPI Benchmarking Insights Report.