TY - JOUR
T1 - Experiences from the international frontlines
T2 - An exploration of the perceptions of airport employees during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Tuchen, Stefan
AU - Nazemi, Mohsen
AU - Ghelfi-Waechter, Signe Maria
AU - Kim, Euiyoung
AU - Hofer, Franziska
AU - Chen, Ching Fu
AU - Arora, Mohit
AU - Santema, Sicco
AU - Blessing, Lucienne
N1 - Funding Information:
Considering airport employees’ unique positioning at the international front lines of the pandemic they form a noteworthy target group for research studies for a variety of reasons, safety behaviour being one example. However, factoring in the value of user experience for strategic planning (Tuchen et al. 2020), when regarded as airport users, they have the potential of being a valuable source of information via their perceptions and experiences. Hamid (2019) argued that human resource management (HRM) plays an important role in a world commonly associated with the US Army-invented acronym VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous)(Bennett and James Lemoine, 2014), going as far as highlighting the importance that a properly managed and supported workforce has for the performance and stability of an organization. Airports are particularly complex because of the large number of companies (with individual workforces) involved, requiring alignment of policies and measures across the board. The COVID-19 pandemic embodies all four letters (Tooze 2020) and understanding the workforce within this context could provide key insights for managerial decisions.In a document outlining recommendations for health systems, the WHO mentions both the physical health, as well as the mental health of employees (World Health Organization, 2020). As pointed out earlier, the surveyed employees are willing to and do take initiative. Employers could foster this and offer their support as a near-term measure for the recovery from and aftermath of COVID-19. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, when targeted at the workforce, have been argued to be beneficial to self-efficacy (Mao et al., 2020). As a component of the larger construct of psychological capital (Mao et al., 2020), self-efficacy can contribute toward employees taking the initiative presented in this study, while not burning out. “Individual-level psychological resources such as adaptability, resilience, and self-efficacy” have also been pointed out as important factors for career optimism, with managerial support (and personal social support networks) identified as particularly beneficial within this context (Manoharan et al., 2021). Naturally, short-term CSR actions could also evolve into general long-term support practices for the workforce. Furthermore, given the large number of companies working within the context of the airport, airport operators could step up to foster a support network across company boundaries.This research was supported by the SUTD Growth Plan Grant for Aviation, Ministry of Education Singapore. The authors would like to thank SUTD student Chloe Tan for her help with managing the survey setup and distribution. The authors would also like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the SUTD Growth Plan Grant for Aviation , Ministry of Education Singapore . The authors would like to thank SUTD student Chloe Tan for her help with managing the survey setup and distribution. The authors would also like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - The aviation industry is one of the sectors that has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. While the major body of literature has focused on passenger experience and behaviour, this study focuses on airport employees instead—their experiences, perceptions, and preferences following the emergence of COVID-19. More than 1000 participants from 4 major airports—Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Singapore Changi Airport, Taipei Taoyuan Airport, and Zurich Airport—representing over 10 different occupations, have provided a variety of sentiments about the airport as an employment ecosystem in the wake of COVID-19. Quantitatively and qualitatively surveying four different airports enabled a cross-border analysis of the results to identify interesting geographic contrasts, as well as global themes, among the responses. Regional differences regarding, the feeling of preparedness, confidence in measures, and optimism are presented. A significant difference in confidence in non-pharmaceutical measures between employees from Asian and European airports is shown. Wants and needs such as better physical/IT workplace infrastructure and more flexibility regarding job scope and hours are pointed out. The results of this research provide insights for future airport employee experience research by outlining areas to study in greater detail. Furthermore, practical implications for airport stakeholders and companies arising from the challenges experienced by the workforce are laid out to provide guidance to prepare for similar circumstances in the future and navigate the aftermath of and recovery from the pandemic.
AB - The aviation industry is one of the sectors that has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. While the major body of literature has focused on passenger experience and behaviour, this study focuses on airport employees instead—their experiences, perceptions, and preferences following the emergence of COVID-19. More than 1000 participants from 4 major airports—Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Singapore Changi Airport, Taipei Taoyuan Airport, and Zurich Airport—representing over 10 different occupations, have provided a variety of sentiments about the airport as an employment ecosystem in the wake of COVID-19. Quantitatively and qualitatively surveying four different airports enabled a cross-border analysis of the results to identify interesting geographic contrasts, as well as global themes, among the responses. Regional differences regarding, the feeling of preparedness, confidence in measures, and optimism are presented. A significant difference in confidence in non-pharmaceutical measures between employees from Asian and European airports is shown. Wants and needs such as better physical/IT workplace infrastructure and more flexibility regarding job scope and hours are pointed out. The results of this research provide insights for future airport employee experience research by outlining areas to study in greater detail. Furthermore, practical implications for airport stakeholders and companies arising from the challenges experienced by the workforce are laid out to provide guidance to prepare for similar circumstances in the future and navigate the aftermath of and recovery from the pandemic.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2023.102404
DO - 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2023.102404
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85151551579
SN - 0969-6997
VL - 109
JO - Journal of Air Transport Management
JF - Journal of Air Transport Management
M1 - 102404
ER -