Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being of Malaysian Aviation Pilots: A Job Demands-Resources theory

Norwahida Musa; Dalili Izni Shafie; Siti Khairunnisa Sheikh Abdul Mutalib

doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v10iSI28.6961

Authors

Norwahida Musa Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kedah, Malaysia
Dalili Izni Shafie Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Siti Khairunnisa Sheikh Abdul Mutalib Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Kedah, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v10iSI28.6961

Keywords:

Job Demands-Resources Theory, Safety Climate, Job Burnout, Mental Health

Abstract

This study examines the mental health and psychological well-being of Malaysian aviation pilots while exploring connections between psychological and organizational contexts. It aims to uncover the mechanisms that influence the mental health and well-being of these pilots through a comprehensive literature review, empirical investigations, and quantitative data analysis. Focus on the organizational context, as well as the psychological context, which emphasizes job burnout as a psychological demand, all framed within the perspective of Job Demands–Resources Theory. Findings indicate promoting a safety climate and reducing job burnout enhance the mental health and psychological well-being of Malaysian aviation pilots.

References

BBC. (2022). China Eastern plane crash likely intentional, US reports say. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61488976

Bellamy, W. (2015). AirAsia Flight 8501 Crash Caused by Pilot Error, Rudder Units. AviationToday.Com. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2015/12/03/airasia-flight8501-crash-caused-by-pilot-error-rudder-units

Branch, A. A. I. (2021). Deviation from expected flightpath during a go-around, Aberdeen Airport, 11 September 2021. AAIB Special Bulletin S2/2021 on Boeing 737-8K5, G-FDZF. https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-special-bulletin-s2-slash2021-on-boeing-737-8k5-g-fdzf

Cahill J, Cullen P, Gaynor K (2018) Estimating the impact of workrelated stress on pilot wellbeing and fight safety. In: Proceedings of the 2nd international symposium on human mental workload: models and applications (H-WORKLOAD 2018), Amsterdam (September 20–21, 2018), Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), The Netherlands

Cahill J, Cullen P, Anwer S, Wilson S, Gaynor K (2021) Pilot work related stress (WRS), efects on wellbeing (including mental health) & coping methods. Int J Aerosp Psychol. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/24721840.2020.1858714 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24721840.2020.1858714

Cahill, Joan & Cullen, Paul & Gaynor, Keith. (2022). The case for change: aviation worker wellbeing during the COVID 19 pandemic, and the need for an integrated health and safety culture. Cognition, Technology & Work. 25. 10.1007/s10111-022-00711-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-022-00711-5

Cullen, P., Cahill, J., & Gaynor, K. (2020). Turbulent times. Part of School of Psychology, TCD website. https://www.tcd.ie/cihs/assets/pdf/TurbulentTimes.pdf

Demerouti, E., A. B. Bakker, F. Nachreiner, and W. B. Schaufeli. 2001. “The Job Demands-resources Model of Burnout.” Journal of Applied Psychology 86 (3): 499. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.86.3.499

Demerouti V, Coombes C, Hunter R (2018) Burnout among pilots: psychosocial factors related to happiness and performance at simulator training. Ergonomics 62(2):233–245

European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) (2020) Safety Review, p 45. https://www.easa.europa.eu/sites/default/fles/dfu/ easa_asr_2020.pdf

Evangelia Demerouti, Wouter Veldhuis, Claire Coombes & Rob Hunter (2019) Burnout among pilots: psychosocial factors related to happiness and performance at simulator training, Ergonomics, 62:2, 233-245, DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2018.1464667 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2018.1464667

Flight Safety Foundation. (2020). An aviation professional’s guide to wellbeing. https://flightsafety.org/ wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Guide-to-Wellbeing.pdf

Griffin, M. A., & Curcuruto, M. (2016). Safety climate in organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3, 191–212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062414

Kharoufah, H.; Murray, J.; Baxter, G.; Wild, G. A Review of Human Factors Causations in Commercial Air Transport Accidents and Incidents: From to 2000–2016. Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 2018, 99, 1–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2018.03.002

Leitão, J., Pereira, D., & Gonçalves, Â. (2021). Quality of work life and contribution to productivity: Assessing the moderator efects of burnout syndrome. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2425 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052425

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout. In G. Fink (Ed.), Handbook of stress: Vol. 1. Stress: Concepts, cognition, emotion, and behavior (351–357). Elsevier Academic Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800951-2.00044-3

Miao, D.; Cao, X.; Zhao, B.; Shi, Y.; Shi, Y. Exploring the Psychological Well-Being of Flight Cadets through a Comprehensive Survey Analysis of Self-Awareness and Self-Acceptance. Aerospace 2024, 11, 441. https://doi.org/10.3390/ aerospace11060441 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11060441

Mulder, S.; de Rooy, D. Pilot Mental Health, Negative Life Events, and Improving Safety with Peer Support and a Just Culture. Aerosp. Med. Hum. Perform. 2018, 89, 41–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3357/AMHP.4903.2018

Pasha, T., & Stokes. (2018). Reflecting on the germanwings disaster: A systematic review of depression and suicide in commercial airline pilots. Front. Psychiatry, 9, 89. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00086 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00086

Torrence, J. (2018). Pilot Error : The Lion Air Flight 904 Crash. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

Taylor, J. A., Davis, A. L., Shepler, L. J., Lee, J., Cannuscio, C., Zohar, D., & Resick, C. J. (2019). Development and validation of the fre service safety climate scale. Safety Science, 118, 126–144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.05.007

Wenas, Patricia & Suryani, Angela & Sudarnoto, Laura. (2022). Item development and psychometric assessment of a pilots' well-being scale: A study on Indonesian commercial pilots. 110-121. 10.37517/978-1-74286-697-0-09. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37517/978-1-74286-697-0-09

Wu, A. C., Donnelly-McLay, D., Weisskopf, M. G., McNeely, E., Betancourt, T. S., & Allen, J. G. (2016). Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts: A cross-sectional descriptive study via anonymous web-based survey. Environmental Health, 15(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0200-69 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-016-0200-6

Yanzeng Z, Keyong Z, Hongmin C, Ziyu L, Pengyu L and Lijing W (2024) The mechanisms linking perceived stress to pilots’ safety attitudes: a chain mediation effect of job burnout and cognitive flexibility. Front. Public Health 12:1342221. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1342221 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1342221

Zhao, Y.; Wang, Y.; Guo, W.; Cheng, L.; Tong, J.; Ji, R.; Zhou, Y.; Liu, Z.; Wang, L. Studies on the Relationship between Occupational Stress and Mental Health, Performance, and Job Satisfaction of Chinese Civil Aviation Pilots. Aerospace 2023, 10, 896. https:// doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10100896 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10100896