Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Social Work

First Advisor

Jin Kim, Ph.D., J.D.

Abstract

This study examines whether flight attendant lifestyles, including commutes, relationships, home life, and seniority, are associated with burnout levels, quality of life, and difficulty detaching from work during time off. Participants were collected through a private Facebook page for Southwest Airlines flight attendants, and responded from varying locations, seniority groups, and demographic categories. It was hypothesized that being employed during the pandemic would indicate higher burnout levels, regardless of whether participants opted to fly during that time. In addition, we proposed that commuting flight attendants that travel to their base by airplane have a lower quality of life and psychological detachment scores than those who live within driving distance from the base. In addition, it was proposed that relationships are essential to flight attendant quality of life and burnout levels. The findings revealed that newly hired flight attendants are less burned out than those employed in 2020 and 2021, and that spending time with coworkers on layovers is correlated with lower burnout levels. It was also revealed that parents of young children and teenagers have higher levels of burnout.

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