Diagnosis of psychosocial factors associated with fatigue in aeronautical sector

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to assess psychosocial conditions of a group of cabin crew members and the status of fatigue and affection to which they could be exposed. The sample consisted on 464 Chilean aeronautical services workers. A large battery of psychometric instruments was used, composed of seven scales (burnout, health problems, job satisfaction, psychosocial risks in organizations, daytime sleepiness, job-family compatibility and emotional work). The information was subjected to descriptive analysis and confirmatory factors to assess the factorial validity of the scales. The results provide valuable information about important health conditions in cabin crew, due to adverse conditions psychosocial aspects of work, with a very high risk level of Daytime Sleepiness (79%), and high Psychological Demand(45%), Burnout (14%), Work-Family Interference (86%) and Emotional Work (93%), the biggest health problems being those associated with sleep and muscle contractures and/or pain.