Are Call Numbers a ?Morale? downer?

A lot my students work on technical help desks (Unisys and Dell), they are constantly judge on their call numbers (Call time, 1st Call close rate, Supervisor Call, Idle time and much more.) These numbers seem to damper their morale but all Call Centers use them. What do you think? Downer or Not? (If you are a call center manager, why are they used?)