Reopening the offices safely won’t be easy, says Karen Harris, New York-based managing director of the Macro Trends Group at consulting firm Bain & Company. “These call centers are typically densely occupied, which makes it challenging to protect workers’ health,” she says. Just as the act of singing seems to spread the virus through droplets in the air, Harris says, talking on the phone for hours may be higher-risk. “You can imagine that speaking all day would raise the risk of transmission.”

Regardless of whether call center employees work from home or a central office, the industry could face a growing risk if clients hit by coronavirus-slowed economies try to cut costs by replacing Philippine operations with chatbots powered by artificial intelligence, says Bain & Company's Harris. “Recessions have historically accelerated automation,” she says. “Habits may have shifted, which gives companies some freedom to use those potentially less expensive services. The economic pressure makes it more compelling.”