Occupational Stress Report: Aviation Industry Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of occupational stress within the aviation industry, addressing various contributing factors and potential mitigation strategies. The report begins with an executive summary highlighting the detrimental effects of workplace stress on employee performance and health. It then delves into specific stressors, including shift timings, fatigue, environmental factors (noise, vibrations, weather), and psychological stressors stemming from work environment issues and employee conflicts. The analysis examines the impact of irregular working hours and shift work, common in aviation, on employee health and performance, emphasizing the importance of efficient shift management, including forward and fast rotating shifts to minimize circadian rhythm disruptions. Environmental stressors like noise and vibrations are discussed, with recommendations for noise reduction through hearing protection and vibration reduction through strategic design of workspaces. The report also addresses psychological stressors, such as work pressure and interpersonal conflicts, recommending solutions like workload distribution, employee counseling, and stress management interventions. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to address and mitigate occupational stress in the aviation industry, promoting a healthier and more productive work environment.

Running head: OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
Name of University:
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Authors Note:

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Executive Summary:
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.

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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).

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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.
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

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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.
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

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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.

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