Airport Workforce Programs Supporting Employee Well-Being (2020)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

4 Introduction A key element of attracting and retaining employees is providing an environment where people want to work. Airports that decrease stress for employees create an environment in which employees want to work and can thrive. Airport employees face many challenges that can create stress, and if employee stress levels are not addressed, employee well-being suffers. This can ultimately affect employee attraction, productivity, and retention. The objective of this synthesis project is to summarize the current state of the practice relating to common sources of airport employee stress and identify existing successful workforce programs that benefit employee well-being. The audience for this synthesis is airport leadership, policy makers, human resource teams, and other managers responsible for employee wellness and benefits. Defining Employee Well-Being When considering how to improve well-being, it is necessary to understand the various components that comprise well-being. Well-being includes physical, mental, and emotional facets of employee health (Grawitch et al. 2006). It is a focus on the whole person rather than a single component of employee health. While there are many different models and frameworks that describe employee well-being, common components of these models include the following elements: • Physical well-being—The ability to perform physical activities without limitations from physical ailments such as pain or biological health problems (e.g., heart disease). • Psychological or mental well-being—The ability to cope with normal life stressors, be produc- tive, and to think and act with a positive mindset. • Social well-being—The ability to coexist with others and develop social and personal relation- ships that benefit the individual. • Financial well-being—The ability to meet financial obligations and feel secure in one’s financial future. The key takeaway from this model of employee well-being is that it focuses on the whole person and impacts all aspects of their life, both in the workplace and outside of work and at home. To develop a robust employee well-being program, airports will need to identify offerings that focus on each of these components to improve the overall well-being of their employees. Employee Well-Being and Stress Overwhelming workplace stressors can take a toll on employees’ physical, mental, and emotional health, and overall personal well-being. The 24/7 daily nature of the airport envi- ronment and potential traumatic events that occur at airports have the potential to exacerbate C H A P T E R 1

Introduction 5 stressors for employees. Further, generational differences, the loss of institutional knowledge from employee turnover, and a high learning curve for new hires can increase stress and affect employee morale and productivity. Airports benefit from attracting new employees and retaining current employees who are engaged in creating safe and efficient operations. As such, it is necessary to assess the well-being of employees and implement strategies to reduce stress and create a work environment that supports total employee well-being. Identifying issues that are influencing employee stress can assist airports in prioritizing workforce development initiatives to improve employee well-being in the future. Technical Approach to the Project Several methods were used to collect data for this synthesis study. These methods included the following: • A literature review to gain an initial understanding of the current state of employee well- being programs in airports, • A survey to gather information about current well-being programs from a variety of airports, and • Case story interviews to learn more in-depth details about the use of employee well-being programs in airports of varying sizes or types. The survey included sections about the following topics: • Airport demographics • Workplace stressors for airport employees • Employee well-being programs in the airport • Specific well-being program offerings In total, 22 completed surveys were received. Survey respondents represented airports across the United States, as well as one Canadian airport. Exhibit 2 provides an overview of the number and percentage of survey participants by their FAA region. Exhibit 3 presents the size of responding airports. Almost half of the survey respondents identified themselves as representing medium-sized airports, with the next largest group representing large airports. No general aviation (GA) airports responded to the survey; however, some of the respondents were from airport authorities that may include GA airports in their employee well-being program offerings. GA airports may have well-being programs that are offered by other entities (e.g., municipality and airport authority) and not have their own programs in place, which may have discouraged GA airports from responding to the survey about well-being programs. Five airports participated in case story interviews to share more information about their well-being programs. Although there were no GA airports represented in the survey results, one GA airport did participate in a case example interview with the study team. Additional information regarding the project methodology is in Appendices A through C. Organization of the Report This synthesis report is designed to provide a summary of the current state of employee well-being programs in airports, identify common barriers to implementing these programs, and understand airport needs related to employee well-being and stressors.

6 Airport Workforce Programs Supporting Employee Well-Being This chapter, Chapter 1, introduces the report and provides a brief overview of the study methodology and final synthesis report structure. Chapter 2 focuses on the stressors that airport employees face. It describes employee stress and, specifically, stress associated with working in airports. This chapter contains both litera- ture review findings and survey results to share information about stress and stressors for the airport industry. Chapter 3 describes the current state of airport well-being programs, both within the airport industry and in organizations in general. It first provides findings from the literature review and then incorporates results from the survey of airports to highlight the types of well-being programs commonly offered. Chapter 4 builds upon the programs described in Chapter 3 by providing five case examples of airports that have employee well-being programs in place. These case examples provide a more complete picture of each of the employee well-being programs highlighted. Note: One survey participant (4%) represented a Canadian airport. 27% (n=6) 14% (n=3) 14% (n=3) 5% (n=1) 27% (n=6) 9% (n=2) Exhibit 2. Survey respondents by FAA regions. Small Hub 18% (n = 4) Medium Hub 45% (n = 10) Large Hub 36% (n = 8) Exhibit 3. Survey respondents, by airport size.

Introduction 7 Chapter 5 summarizes the conclusions of the synthesis and identifies areas where additional study, information, or measurement may be necessary to better support employees in dealing with the stressors they encounter. The chapter also offers guidelines for implementing robust employee well-being programs. A reference section and five appendices follow Chapter 5. Appendix A presents an overview of data collection activities, Appendix B offers airport well-being survey items, Appendix C outlines the case-story interview protocol, Appendix D summarizes the survey results, and Appendix E presents example well-being program materials.