Factors causing stress in aviation industry employees

Stress in the work place can be very detrimental for the work performance of an employee, but most importantly, it might cause long term mental as well as physical health issues. The case study mentions different issues and stressors faced by the employees and a critical analysis of each of those factors and possible ways to mitigate the stress sources has been discussed in the following report. Shift timings and fatigue issues is a common factor causing stress in employees in the aviation industry,  environmental stressors or performance shaping factors include noise, illumination, vibrations,  weather conditions, and most importantly psychological stressors that are caused due to work environment issues, conflict between employees, have been discussed elaborately in this report.

There are a number of factors, which are associated with Stress at Workplace, especially in Industry of Aviation. Environmental factors like the weather, humidity, noise, vibrations; Workplace factors like Shift timings and fatigue and Individual factors like psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction issues are few factors within an array of factors that is going to be discussed in this report. Performance Shaping Factors (PSF) also known as Environmental Stressors  are those aspects of the surroundings, which  might cause cognitive or psychological damage leading to a dip in the performance of the employees (Hooper and O’Hare, 2013). The most common feature for an individual living in the aviation industry is irregular working hours which brings about a lot of stress. In this report the issues brought to light in the given case study is to be critically analyzed and discussed.

According to the scenario presented in the case study, A ramp operation for 24 hours is required to cover which employees need to be allotted a shift system. Among workers in the aviation industry, shift working is a common stressor and has a potential to cause both physiological as well as psychological health problems. It is not the shift timings that contribute to the ill health of the workers, but the fatigue caused  because of it (Health and safety Executive, 2006). Although, this issue cannot be eliminated entirely because, an industry like that of aviation requires 24 hours and 365 days of work, however, if managed efficiently can be reduced. According to HSE (2006 ) fatigue can be reduced if working hours and overtime and shift-swapping can be controlled and limited. Shift systems that are not efficiently thought out can not only cause fatigue but can also lead to accidents (Health and Safety executive, 2009).  Also numerous research suggests that due to frequent changes in the circadian rhythm, a range of health issues like abdominal pain, indigestion, headaches, cardiovascular disorders, irregular menstrual cycle, susceptibility to illnesses take place (Bannai and  Tamakoshi,  2014).  Evidences from a number of researches (Mustard et al., 2013; Wong, McLeod and Demers, 2011) have shown trends that day shift workers succumb to lesser injuries in comparison to evening and night shift workers and that evening shift workers are more susceptible to accidents and prone to injuries in comparison to night shift workers. There are essentially two types of shift, permanent and rotating. In a permanent shift, the shift schedule for each employee is fixed, but the circadian rhythms are messed up again on the days of rest when the individuals revert back to their normal cycle (Juda, Vetter and Roenneberg, 2013). These permanent shifts can be night shifts, afternoon shifts or evening shifts. Rotating shifts on the other hand reduces the night shifts to be served by each worker, however, on the downsides; individuals have difficulty in adapting to the time schedule (Shantha, 2013). Forward rotating shifts enable the workers circadian rhythm to adapt quicker. Fast rotation shifts helps in minimizing circadian rhythm disruptions (Harris, 2016). Therefore, in the given scenario, the workers should be given eight hour forward and fast rotating shifts. It should be made sure that workers do not work for too many days at a stretch. These precautions are to be taken to control the level of stress and fatigue. 

Shift timings and fatigue issues

As discussed earlier environmental stressors can be enormously detrimental in terms of the health of the individuals, especially factors like noise, vibrations, weather, and humidity. Exposure to prolonged loud noise inhibits proper communication but most of all, it can cause permanent hearing damage . However, it is understood that noise cannot be eliminated entirely. In the situation discussed here, the workers will be exposed to a noise level of 85 dB on an average daily and 125 dB for short intervals of time during the starting or landing of an aircraft. In the industry of Aviation noise is a basic environmental stressor, and 85 dB on an average can be considered as an upper exposure action value (Hancock. and Szalma, 2017). It is important to take practical measures to reduce noise exposure. One mandatory step is using hearing protection to reduce the worker’s exposure to that kind of noise, which might otherwise lead to issues like headache, nausea, accidents (HSE, 2009). Another stressor, which is insidiously dangerous for workers in the aviation industry, is vibration. The workers on the baggage trucks and trailers are exposed to vibrations, which can cause physical discomfort and numerous health issues. Frequency of the vibration causes body parts of individuals to resonate, however, the human body is affected  because of the bodily acceleration associated with the vibrations (Berschin et al., 2014). There can be two categories of the body being affected by vibrations, hand or arm vibration, or entire body vibration. In case of a whole body vibration, a passive and artificial motion is caused to the body, this causes sensors in the body muscles to give regular artificial feedback, and thereby resulting is neuromuscular changes. These neuromuscular changes make the body susceptible to chronic spine related disorders, loss of tactile sensibility, muscular weaknesses, vision issues and many more (Ritzmann, Gollhofer and Kramer,  2013). Research has shown that exposure to vibrations lead to decline of the performance of workers (Harris, 2016). Seating and working areas need to be devised strategically so that the workers are exposed to minimum vibrations. The temperature and humidity also play an essential role in stressing the body (Wong, McLeod and Demers, 2011). 35 degrees is the average temperature condition with about 55 percent humidity on an average. However, it is the winters with extreme temperature drop till 4 degrees. The workers need to be instructed to wear proper warm clothing during winter and light and breezy and light clothes during summers.

Environmental stressors

The case study that is being discussed states that office based staffs are suffering from work related stress. According to the employees, they have so much work to do that it has gotten difficult for them to manage time. This suggests extreme work pressure on the part of the employees. In addition, there have been other issues of misbehavior of certain employees towards others, which has been causing the office to have a stressful environment.  These emotional and psychological stressors have a major impact on the productivity of the employees.

According to a survey conducted by the UK Health and Safety Executive, it was found that about 11.7 million working days were hampered due to absence employees as they faced stress related issues (HSE 2017).  It needs to be understood that stress can be the result of work related as well as non-work related issues and it is hardly possible to separate the two factors. The reactions to stress can be different for different individuals but the most common reactions are increased irritability, headaches, anxiety, depressed state, unwillingness to work, decline performance, increase in smoking or drinking habits, irregular menstruation  and more (Schliep et al., 2015). Numerous biological issues are related to increase in stress too. It is mandatory to reduce the work pressure of the workers by employing more work and distributing the work evenly, monitoring and reviewing the progress of the employees in order to have a stress free environment (The International Labor Organization Encyclopedia of Occupational Safety and Health, 2007).. The issues among the employees need to be resolved with required counseling and handling of the situation. It is essential for the upper management to get involved in resolving conflicts. Stress level interventions like stress management trainings, relaxation trainings, cognitive behavior therapy need to be incorporated (Joyce et al., 2016). Inclusion of employee assistance programs can be very beneficial in resolving conflict issues. 

References

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Schliep, K.C., Mumford, S.L., Vladutiu, C.J., Ahrens, K.A., Perkins, N.J., Sjaarda, L.A., Kissell, K.A., Prasad, A., Wactawski-Wende, J. and Schisterman, E.F., 2015. Perceived stress, reproductive hormones, and ovulatory function: a prospective cohort study. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 26(2), p.177.

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Wong, I.S., McLeod, C.B. and Demers, P.A. (2011). Shift work trends and risk of work injury among Canadian workers. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health, 37, 54-61.