Air New Zealand Beech 1900D cabin — Used under Creative Commons licence CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ by Phillip Capper

Work environment matters

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Flexibility, communication and security are important to airline industry employees.

The emergence of budget airlines has resulted in intense competition in the airline industry, both for passengers and staff. As a service industry, retaining  employees gives airlines an advantage because of the critical role staff play in identifying and fulfilling passenger needs on the ground and in the air. This makes it critical for airlines to retain highly capable staff by ensuring the highest job satisfaction of its employees.

A lecturer at our Auckland International Campus, Olufemi Omisakin, has undertaken research into the factors that contribute to job satisfaction for airline employees. He surveyed the 60 employees of one small airline, with 75% of them responding to the survey. What he found was that the level of employee satisfaction is not highly correlated with bonuses, promotions and other fringe benefits, as long as staff perceived that the reward system was fair. However there was a high positive relationship between job satisfaction and work environment factors, such as flexibility of working conditions, workplace communication and job security.

A small variation in work environment conditions can lead to a significant effect on job satisfaction. Olufemi therefore recommends that airline management are proactive in maintaining good work environment conditions to help retain staff.