[Burnout and psychosocial risk factors in the career of flight attendants: Descriptive study of a population of Lebanese flight attendants].

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of demographic factors (gender and age), work related factors (the position and years of practice) and psychosocial risk factors (cognitive demands, demands to hide emotions, work-family conflict, offensive behaviors…) on the development of burnout among flight attendants, and the nature of psychosocial factors to which they are exposed.

Methods: The sample was divided into two groups: 67 flight attendants and 67 persons in various jobs. Our sampling units were informed and consented to fill in two questionnaires: the Copenhagen burnout inventory (CBI) and the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II).

Results: The burnout syndrome affected both groups equally. It affected equally the women as well as men, whatever their age categories and their years of experience. The flight attendants occupying an intermediate position in the hierarchy had the highest score on the burnout syndrome. The psychosocial factors significantly found in flight attendants compared to the control group were: demands for hiding emotions, quantitative demands, emotional demands, temporal demands, lack of influence at work, of rewards, of possibility for development and variation of work, poor quality of leadership, exposure to sexual harassment, lack of social support from supervisors, colleagues, social community at work and work-family conflict. Four of them correlated positively with the development of burnout: quantitative demands, temporal demands, emotional demands and work-family conflict. Their expected work volume is very high (quantitative demands). They have to perform their tasks quickly in a limited time without forgetting the technical constraints (temporal demands). They have to work with an average of three hundred passengers besides colleagues and subordinates, which requires diligent control of the emotions promoted by the airline code of conduct based on repression of emotions (emotional demands). These demands affect the workers once they find themselves in their family environment and can have a negative effect on their private life (work-family conflict). However, the predictability seems to allow them to be aware of decisions and changes and protect them against burnout.

Conclusion: The profession of flight attendants appears to be characterized by some psychosocial risk factors, some of which are positively correlated with burnout. Improved working conditions can prevent these risks and protect these employees from burnout.