Irregular work shifts and family issues-the case of flight attendants

Abstract

This chapter deals with the particularities of the work schedule of flight attendants and its influence on social and family life. Characteristically, flight attendants work in shifts that involve irregular hours without preplanned rest periods, eventually including night and transmeridian flights, as well as stopovers away from home. All these factors jeopardize the flight attendants’ social and family life. From the gender perspective, an extremely high proportion of flight attendants are female, and thus the implications of the sexual division of labor deserve particular consideration relative to both the professional and domestic spheres. Having to manage their homes from a distance poses an additional demand to this category of workers. Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate mental stress related to depression and anxiety among flight attendants. According to some studies, female flight attendants feel lonely and a failure as partners and mothers. In addition, they have mixed feelings about their job and must elaborate complex strategies to balance work and family. Flight attendants are a relevant population for shift work studies as a function of the particular demands their work schedule imposes on the management of daily life, which exert significant impact on health and psychosocial outcomes that still require more thorough analysis.