Work happiness of Thai commercial pilots.

Abstract

Background : There have been several studies about work happiness in various professions. Nevertheless, research in work happiness among pilots has never been conducted despite it is a job of high responsibility and unique working environments.

Objective : To examine work happiness as well as associated factors among commercial pilots.

Design : A cross – sectional descriptive study.

Setting : An airline company in Thailand.

Materials and Methods : Data were collected from 546 commercial pilots. Questionnaire included: 1) General background; 2) Work happiness. Descriptive statistics were used to examine work happiness and multiple linear regressions were used to validate the associated factors of work happiness.

Results : Seventy percent of the subjects had moderate level of work happiness. The significantly associated factors were work positions and fleets. Captains were happier than co-pilots (β = -.185, p <0.001, 95%CI = -6.119 to -2.343). With reference to pilots flying regional route, those who fly domestic fights had higher level of happiness (β = .102, p = .017 , 95%CI = .786 to 8.123 ) than those of international ones (β = .088, p = .039, 95%CI = .119 to 4.394).

Conclusion : Most of commercial pilots have moderate level of work happi ness which are associated with work positions and fleets.