Subjective health complaints, work-related stress and self-efficacy in Norwegian aircrew

The European civilian aviation industry has undergone major changes in the last decade. Despite this, there is little knowledge about work-related stress and subjective health complaints (SHCs) affecting Norwegian aircrew.

To investigate the relationships between work-related stress, self-efficacy and SHCs in commercial aircrew in Norway and to explore differences between cockpit and cabin crew.

Aircrew members from the three major airlines operating from Norway completed an electronically distributed questionnaire. Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the association between work-related stress, self-efficacy and SHCs.

There was a 21% response rate. Among the 843 study subjects, tiredness, sleep problems, bloating, low back pain, headaches and neck pain were the most prevalent SHCs. Cabin crew reported significantly higher numbers, prevalences and mean values for all SHCs compared with cockpit crew (P < 0.05). In total, 20% reported high stress levels. High levels of work-related stress were significantly associated with all SHC factors in both groups. Self-efficacy partly moderated the relationship between stress and psychological complaints in both cockpit and cabin crew, and for musculoskeletal complaints in cockpit crew. The model explained 23 and 32% of the variance in psychological complaints for cockpit and cabin crew, respectively.

Commercial aircrew in Norway reported high numbers of SHCs, and high levels of work-related stress were associated with high numbers of SHC. More knowledge is needed on the physical, organizational and psychosocial stressors affecting cockpit and cabin crew in order to create a healthier work environment for these groups.