TITLE:
Character Strengths of Airline Pilots: Explaining Life and Job Satisfaction and Predicting CRM Performance
AUTHORS:
Hadassah Littman-Ovadia, Elad Raas-Rothschild
KEYWORDS:
Character Strengths, Airline Pilots, Life Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, CRM Skills, Job Performance
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.9 No.8,
August
10,
2018
ABSTRACT: The associations of character strengths with job satisfaction and work performance have recently been studied. However, the questions whether different professions are characterized by different strengths, and whether different strengths explain desired outcomes in different professions remain unresolved. The present study sought to identify the character strengths most highly endorsed by airline pilots and most highly used in a typical pilot’s workday. The study also aimed to determine which strengths are most highly associated with pilots’ life and job satisfaction, and most predictive of specific work performance. Israeli airline pilots (N = 177) completed measures of strengths endorsement, strengths use, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. Participants’ crew resource management (CRM) behaviors were assessed to reflect actual job performance. Findings pointed to various character strength profiles related to the examined personal and work aspects. These findings highlight the contribution of specific strengths to satisfaction and performance of airline pilots. Implications regarding the potential interaction between organization culture and personal strengths are addressed.