Stress Management in Airline Operations Control Centre
Kiiski, Iina (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023112832365
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023112832365
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this research paper was to identify the sources of stress and its consequences at Airline Operations Control Centre and offer solutions on how the stress management tools could be improved at individual and organizational levels in the target department.
The commissioner for the thesis was a Finnish regional airline, referred in this thesis as Airline X. The company operates domestic and European air traffic with a fleet of 24 aircraft, employing approximately 700 people in Finland. This study focused on the company’s Operations Control Centre (OCC) department, which is responsible for supervising the daily operations of the aircraft and the flight crew. The department is in the command of managing and performing operational supervising and control for the airline in daily operations to guarantee optimal traffic performance. Additionally, it is the responsible utility for minimizing the impacts of irregular situations and unforeseeable traffic disruptions.
Both written and electronic sources were used as sources in literal review in the thesis. Furthermore, the source material handled stress, work stress, the stress response and consequences, stress assessment as well as stress management and its tools.
The qualitative research was used as a research method in the empirical part of the work and data for the study was collected through interviews. The interviews were conducted for six employees working in the department in the roles of Operations Controller and Crew Controller. The data collection aimed to acknowledge the current sources of labor and work task-related stress in OCC, the consequences of stress for the individual and the organization in relation to work performance, and how stress at work could be prevented and combated both at the individual and organizational levels. In addition, the aim was to detect what tools the employees can use to cope with stressors and what tools the company could develop in order to manage stress more suitably. The study also obtained how the employer could utilize well-being of employees through improved stress management system.
The results of the interview data analysis are presented in this paper. According to the study, the supplies of stress experienced by the interview participants were essentially the same, and the consequences varied at the individual level and were vastly similar at the organizational level. Furthermore, it can be clearly stated from the research results that stress has significant effects on individuals working in Airline X OCC and it has extensive influence on performance in the target organization. Based on the conclusions, development proposals regarding individual and organizational stress management have been presented to the commissioner of the study.
The commissioner for the thesis was a Finnish regional airline, referred in this thesis as Airline X. The company operates domestic and European air traffic with a fleet of 24 aircraft, employing approximately 700 people in Finland. This study focused on the company’s Operations Control Centre (OCC) department, which is responsible for supervising the daily operations of the aircraft and the flight crew. The department is in the command of managing and performing operational supervising and control for the airline in daily operations to guarantee optimal traffic performance. Additionally, it is the responsible utility for minimizing the impacts of irregular situations and unforeseeable traffic disruptions.
Both written and electronic sources were used as sources in literal review in the thesis. Furthermore, the source material handled stress, work stress, the stress response and consequences, stress assessment as well as stress management and its tools.
The qualitative research was used as a research method in the empirical part of the work and data for the study was collected through interviews. The interviews were conducted for six employees working in the department in the roles of Operations Controller and Crew Controller. The data collection aimed to acknowledge the current sources of labor and work task-related stress in OCC, the consequences of stress for the individual and the organization in relation to work performance, and how stress at work could be prevented and combated both at the individual and organizational levels. In addition, the aim was to detect what tools the employees can use to cope with stressors and what tools the company could develop in order to manage stress more suitably. The study also obtained how the employer could utilize well-being of employees through improved stress management system.
The results of the interview data analysis are presented in this paper. According to the study, the supplies of stress experienced by the interview participants were essentially the same, and the consequences varied at the individual level and were vastly similar at the organizational level. Furthermore, it can be clearly stated from the research results that stress has significant effects on individuals working in Airline X OCC and it has extensive influence on performance in the target organization. Based on the conclusions, development proposals regarding individual and organizational stress management have been presented to the commissioner of the study.