The Pressure of Airline Workers-What Really Goes on in the Skies?
Author: Romy Sullivan
4 Commentries
Tourism is an important part of the economy and is increasing year by year. There are many benefits of working in the tourism industry but lots of stresses are also caused from the long hours and demanding customers. Cabin crew is a popular choice for tourism jobs, it is a job for mostly women simply because they look better whilst doing the job. It may seem like a glamorous job but there are many side effects of working in the skies for long periods of time. It is shown that cabin crew have different demands in emotional and aesthetic labor (Hochschild, 1983). Both of these terms are essentially very important for cabin crew because the staff have to deal with so much going on without being able to show their real emotions. They also have to act professional whilst look ‘glamorous’ at all times too, even though the job isn't as glamorous as it seems. This writing will explore behind the main role of cabin crew and pay close attention to emotional and aesthetic labor and look at the many affects the job has on staff.
Emotional labor is defined as the “management of feeling to create a publicity observable facial and bodily display†(Hochschild, 1983). It is important for cabin crew to control their emotional feelings when doing their job, dealing with angry customers is part of their every day service and cabin crew are trained on how to deal with their real emotions and hide them from the customers. Providing good customer service is the only secret for cabin crew. “If employees express positive emotions when interacting with customers, the customers are likely to perceive these emotions†(Cho, Rutherford and Park, 2012). Simple customer service skills go a long way and should not be taken for granted because staff are constantly monitored on this.
Looking good is a very important part of being cabin crew; showing personality tends to help because it draws customers in and being likable is more beneficial in customer service jobs. “Human beings are naturally attracted to physical beauty and frequently make private judgements on the physical appearance of others†(Waring, 2011). This is consequently what customers would like to see on their flights. Hochschild (1983:96) describes the importance of ‘weight, figure, straight teeth, complexion and facial regularity’ for an air stewardess. These factors are the normal stereotype for this type of worker and mostly women tend to have these jobs simply because they are better at looking ‘sexy’ than a male is. Aesthetic labor has always been a key part of the job and started in the early 1950’s when cabin crew did all marketing for airlines. They picked the most attractive people to do this job and this followed by choosing the very glamorous and single people to do the job. The reason for this was to please the men and maybe get something from the business men (Barry, 2007).
The pressures of “looking good†and “sounding right†(Nickson, Warhurt, Witz and Cullen, 2001) are the main factors for cabin crew. If staff get this right then they are more likely to do well at their job. Making conversation and being friendly is just as important as looking friendly and smiling. Staff saying the right things to customers without showing any of their own personal emotion will benefit both them and the customers.
Although being cabin crew may seem like a glamorous job and look like a job of fun and lots of opportunities; there are loads of hidden stresses which cause negative effects on the staff. “Cabin crew commonly suffer from physical illness and mental exhaustion due to jet lag a tight work schedule that changes frequently†(Chang and Chiu, 2009). There is no stability in this job and living out of suitcases month in month out can take strain on staff, there is hardly any time to rest and the hours they do when working are full on and hard. Research has also shown that cabin crew deal with so many unhappy customers that staff can suffer with physical or mental illness which could cause long term effects on these individuals (Demerouti et al, 2001). Only certain people can cope with pressures such as these in the tourism industry and although employment is very high in tourism jobs, the turnover proves that the conditions they work in are harder than anticipated.
In conclusion, cabin crew jobs do have their benefits; the world is their desk and every day is different. Emotional and aesthetic labor is an interesting research and shows how important customer service is in the industry. Staff are rated on their appearance which why looking ‘glamorous’ is such an important theme in the industry. It shows that having a job like this is more than just a job but a lifestyle which gives people opportunities, yet also causes numerous stresses that are not healthy for individuals. Cabin crew staff are taken for granted for the hard work they do; emotional and aesthetic labor help to gain an understanding of what the job involves and just how important it is.
References
Barry, K. M. (2007). Femininity in flight. A history of flight attendants. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.
Chang, C. P., & Chiu, J. M. (2009). Flight attendants’ emotional labor and exhaustion in the Taiwanese airline industry. Journal of Service Science & Management, 2, 305–311
Cho. Y, Rutherford. B, Park. J (2012) The Impact of Emotional Labor in a Retain Environment. Journal of Business Rsearch
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86
Hochschild, A. (1983) Managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley, CA: University Press.
Nickson, D., Warhurst, C., Witz, A. and Cullen, AM., (2001) The importance of being aesthetic: work, employment and service organisation, In: A. Sturdy, I. Grugulis, and H.
Waring, P (2011) Keeping up Appearances: Aesthetic Labour and Discrimination Law. Journal of Industrial Relations
Emotional labor is defined as the “management of feeling to create a publicity observable facial and bodily display†(Hochschild, 1983). It is important for cabin crew to control their emotional feelings when doing their job, dealing with angry customers is part of their every day service and cabin crew are trained on how to deal with their real emotions and hide them from the customers. Providing good customer service is the only secret for cabin crew. “If employees express positive emotions when interacting with customers, the customers are likely to perceive these emotions†(Cho, Rutherford and Park, 2012). Simple customer service skills go a long way and should not be taken for granted because staff are constantly monitored on this.
Looking good is a very important part of being cabin crew; showing personality tends to help because it draws customers in and being likable is more beneficial in customer service jobs. “Human beings are naturally attracted to physical beauty and frequently make private judgements on the physical appearance of others†(Waring, 2011). This is consequently what customers would like to see on their flights. Hochschild (1983:96) describes the importance of ‘weight, figure, straight teeth, complexion and facial regularity’ for an air stewardess. These factors are the normal stereotype for this type of worker and mostly women tend to have these jobs simply because they are better at looking ‘sexy’ than a male is. Aesthetic labor has always been a key part of the job and started in the early 1950’s when cabin crew did all marketing for airlines. They picked the most attractive people to do this job and this followed by choosing the very glamorous and single people to do the job. The reason for this was to please the men and maybe get something from the business men (Barry, 2007).
The pressures of “looking good†and “sounding right†(Nickson, Warhurt, Witz and Cullen, 2001) are the main factors for cabin crew. If staff get this right then they are more likely to do well at their job. Making conversation and being friendly is just as important as looking friendly and smiling. Staff saying the right things to customers without showing any of their own personal emotion will benefit both them and the customers.
Although being cabin crew may seem like a glamorous job and look like a job of fun and lots of opportunities; there are loads of hidden stresses which cause negative effects on the staff. “Cabin crew commonly suffer from physical illness and mental exhaustion due to jet lag a tight work schedule that changes frequently†(Chang and Chiu, 2009). There is no stability in this job and living out of suitcases month in month out can take strain on staff, there is hardly any time to rest and the hours they do when working are full on and hard. Research has also shown that cabin crew deal with so many unhappy customers that staff can suffer with physical or mental illness which could cause long term effects on these individuals (Demerouti et al, 2001). Only certain people can cope with pressures such as these in the tourism industry and although employment is very high in tourism jobs, the turnover proves that the conditions they work in are harder than anticipated.
In conclusion, cabin crew jobs do have their benefits; the world is their desk and every day is different. Emotional and aesthetic labor is an interesting research and shows how important customer service is in the industry. Staff are rated on their appearance which why looking ‘glamorous’ is such an important theme in the industry. It shows that having a job like this is more than just a job but a lifestyle which gives people opportunities, yet also causes numerous stresses that are not healthy for individuals. Cabin crew staff are taken for granted for the hard work they do; emotional and aesthetic labor help to gain an understanding of what the job involves and just how important it is.
References
Barry, K. M. (2007). Femininity in flight. A history of flight attendants. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.
Chang, C. P., & Chiu, J. M. (2009). Flight attendants’ emotional labor and exhaustion in the Taiwanese airline industry. Journal of Service Science & Management, 2, 305–311
Cho. Y, Rutherford. B, Park. J (2012) The Impact of Emotional Labor in a Retain Environment. Journal of Business Rsearch
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86
Hochschild, A. (1983) Managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley, CA: University Press.
Nickson, D., Warhurst, C., Witz, A. and Cullen, AM., (2001) The importance of being aesthetic: work, employment and service organisation, In: A. Sturdy, I. Grugulis, and H.
Waring, P (2011) Keeping up Appearances: Aesthetic Labour and Discrimination Law. Journal of Industrial Relations