The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective
This article reports on the wellness of selected cabin crew members at a South African airline. The aviation industry introduces a great amount of potential environmental stressors to cabin crew. The purpose of the research was to explore the wellbeing of cabin crew and the stressors related t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AfricaJournals
2015-01-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_41_vol_4_(1)_jan-june_2015_-_finalversion25may2015.pdf
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| _version_ | 1818317043355615232 |
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| author | Sanchen Henning |
| author_facet | Sanchen Henning |
| author_sort | Sanchen Henning |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article reports on the wellness of selected cabin crew members at a South African airline. The
aviation industry introduces a great amount of potential environmental stressors to cabin crew. The
purpose of the research was to explore the wellbeing of cabin crew and the stressors related to their
working environment. As primary safety officers on board an aircraft, cabin crew perform a vital
function. In order to provide a world-class hospitality service to passengers, cabin crew need to be in
an optimal state of physical and psychological wellness. A systems theoretical perspective formed the
framework of the study. This approach provided a comprehensive description of the personenvironment
transactions. A qualitative research approach was the chosen method of inquiry and
purposeful sampling fitted the rationale of the study. In total, 12 face-to-face semi-structured
interviews were conducted with cabin crew members at their offices. Content analysis was conducted
in 3 different phases, where each phase was progressively more complex and abstract. During the
first-order analysis the researcher constructed 18 coding categories. The next phase constitutes the
second-order analysis where 8 pattern categories were identified, describing the relations between the
coding categories. Finally, the third-order analysis presents a conceptual analysis, indicating how the
various coding and pattern categories were integrated and how they relate to the general concepts of
a systemic epistemology.
The findings of the study indicated that the stressors that cabin crew experience are all related to the
disruption of personal meaningful regularities or patterns. It seems that as humans we have a need
for a certain amount of regularity and predictability, a certain “lawfulness” in our world. The migratory
lifestyle of airline cabin crew introduces disrupted circadian rhythms, disrupted interpersonal
relationships as well as disrupted cultural patterns. Based on the findings, recommendations for
intervention strategies were made. These included psycho-educational workshops to cabin crew and
the introduction of limited flying periods to reduce the long-term effects on their physical and emotional
wellness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:31:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-115c2f8bde4f4eaf850d690ceba06092 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-814X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:31:03Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | AfricaJournals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure |
| spelling | doaj.art-115c2f8bde4f4eaf850d690ceba060922022-12-21T23:52:30ZengAfricaJournalsAfrican Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure2223-814X2015-01-0141article_41_vol_4_1_2015The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspectiveSanchen Henning0 University of South Africa This article reports on the wellness of selected cabin crew members at a South African airline. The aviation industry introduces a great amount of potential environmental stressors to cabin crew. The purpose of the research was to explore the wellbeing of cabin crew and the stressors related to their working environment. As primary safety officers on board an aircraft, cabin crew perform a vital function. In order to provide a world-class hospitality service to passengers, cabin crew need to be in an optimal state of physical and psychological wellness. A systems theoretical perspective formed the framework of the study. This approach provided a comprehensive description of the personenvironment transactions. A qualitative research approach was the chosen method of inquiry and purposeful sampling fitted the rationale of the study. In total, 12 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with cabin crew members at their offices. Content analysis was conducted in 3 different phases, where each phase was progressively more complex and abstract. During the first-order analysis the researcher constructed 18 coding categories. The next phase constitutes the second-order analysis where 8 pattern categories were identified, describing the relations between the coding categories. Finally, the third-order analysis presents a conceptual analysis, indicating how the various coding and pattern categories were integrated and how they relate to the general concepts of a systemic epistemology. The findings of the study indicated that the stressors that cabin crew experience are all related to the disruption of personal meaningful regularities or patterns. It seems that as humans we have a need for a certain amount of regularity and predictability, a certain “lawfulness” in our world. The migratory lifestyle of airline cabin crew introduces disrupted circadian rhythms, disrupted interpersonal relationships as well as disrupted cultural patterns. Based on the findings, recommendations for intervention strategies were made. These included psycho-educational workshops to cabin crew and the introduction of limited flying periods to reduce the long-term effects on their physical and emotional wellness. http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_41_vol_4_(1)_jan-june_2015_-_finalversion25may2015.pdf airline cabin crew aviation industry customer service flight attendant |
| spellingShingle | Sanchen Henning The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure airline cabin crew aviation industry customer service flight attendant |
| title | The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective |
| title_full | The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective |
| title_fullStr | The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective |
| title_short | The wellness of airline cabin attendants: A systems theory perspective |
| title_sort | wellness of airline cabin attendants a systems theory perspective |
| topic | airline cabin crew aviation industry customer service flight attendant |
| url |
http://www.ajhtl.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_41_vol_4_(1)_jan-june_2015_-_finalversion25may2015.pdf
|
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sanchenhenning thewellnessofairlinecabinattendantsasystemstheoryperspective AT sanchenhenning wellnessofairlinecabinattendantsasystemstheoryperspective |