Niyamath Parveez

The rise in popularity of outsourcing can be seen in the way that it is creeping into popular culture. This means that it is featuring in the plot lines of a number of popular TV shows. When this happens, it usually indicates that there is a general level of awareness because soap operas and TV programs are usually aimed at the mass market. Therefore, the presence of outsourcing plot lines on the TV screen will give it a further credence to the everyday lives of people. Many people have already been affected, positively or negatively, by outsourcing and now a larger percentage of the population will understand what outsourcing means.

The latest popular television show to feature outsourcing is Hollyoaks in the UK. Hollyoaks is a daily soap opera aimed at the teenage and early adult market, coming on straight after the Simpsons. The plot lines follow the lives and love of the community in Cheshire and mainly focus on people of school and student age. This makes it an attractive fit for the younger generation and Hollyoaks has achieved respectable viewing figures. The popularity of the show has been boosted by having a number of attractive boys and girls in the cast, which is always a ratings winner.

One of the regular goings on in the show revolves around the staffs who are employed in a local call center. Given that many of the main characters in the TV show are based at college or University and this is exactly the sort of employment that suits these people makes it a very realistic show. The latest twist comes when the staff members are informed that their jobs are at risk due to the threat of outsourcing. Clearly this is the sort of threat that many people are experiencing nowadays, so a lot of viewers will have an empathy with the fate of the staff.

Some of the people were happy to work for longer hours without any increase in pay in order to stave off the threat of outsourcing. Some of the other staff members were not happy with this solution to the problems and were resolved to the fact that they would be soon out of a job. In this instance, the jobs were being outsourced to Belfast in Northern Ireland but the threat of outsourcing can come from all over the world. It may have been more realistic for the show to give the outsourcing location a more exotic location but the sentiment and problems that come with outsourcing are true regardless where the location.

As more and more people become aware of outsourcing, there is a likelihood of TV shows featuring plot lines of this nature. It may help some people to come to terms with outsourcing means and what it impact it can have on the lives of people. Some TV shows suffer from having unrealistic plot lines or implausible story arcs but with outsourcing becoming extremely popular, this sort of storyline is in tune with the business world and employment resources.