In August 2020 the Lived Experience Wellbeing Project surveyed over 2,000 safety-critical aviation workers, and examined levels of psychological distress and the supports being provided to and availed of by these workers. One year on, we want to see how things have changed. Is it better? Is it worse?
Mental health is crucial in every industry. Hence, each organisation has a significant impact on assuring mental health and safety in the workplace. Also, most importantly, the narrative surrounding mental health needs to be altered where we have to consider mental health as a performance-influencing element. In today's UK Psych Health and Safety Podcast Show podcast, we're joined by two skilled and experienced individuals, Dr. Joan Cahill and Paul Cullen. Throughout this episode, they discuss their work and findings over the previous years. Also, they share their perspectives on various topics relating to people's mental well-being in the aviation sector. Dr. Joan Cahill is a Principal Investigator & Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. Captain Paul works as a human factors researcher at the Human Factors Research Associate. Also, he is an airline accident investigator with the IFALPA.
Joan was recently recognised with a Societal Impact Award for her work at the intersection of people, technology, and processes. She has been investigating aviation, human factors, and well-being as protective elements for safe performance for the previous two decades. Since 2016, she and Paul have collected highly targeted data on airline workers' well-being and mental health. They began surveying pilots in 2018 and have since polled over 2000 pilots. And then more recently, in 2020 and 2021, they interviewed all aviation personnel to examine the COVID experience, changes in their well-being, employment status, safety, oversight, job motivation, and the impact of well-being on safety, engagement, and other factors.
Additionally, they conducted a qualitative study and observed innumerable pilots and relief workers. They have conducted extensive stakeholder evaluation studies collaborating with the industry, the OAS, the Flight Safety Foundation, and many pilot and aviation worker unions. Moreover, they collaborate with regulators, most notably the European Aviation Safety Authority. During the conversation, they underline the critical nature of an organisation's health, well-being, and safety culture. While expressing their take on the operationalisation of well-being and peer support, they dive deep into providing an overview of several solutions for psychiatric health, occupational safety, and well-being management. Finally, ending the conversation, they emphasise the importance of taking action and confronting reality, of not being passive and being more proactive and caring regarding mental health difficulties.
[02:13] Work thus far – Joan discusses the work they have been doing in the areas of lived experience and well-being recently.
[04:00] Findings - Joan outlines some of the observations they made before the COVID pandemic and how they evolved and changed during the pandemic.
[06:48] Paul's Experience - Paul describes his involvement in the study and, more specifically, his personal experiences as a pilot and employee in the aviation industry.
[12:04] More on Mental health – Highlighting the importance of speaking up and normalising mental illnesses; Joan emphasises knowing what to do as a first step in this process and how to accomplish it.
[18:51] Integrated Health, Well-being, and Safety Culture – Joan addresses the need for organisations to implement a comprehensive approach to mental health concerns.
[26:27] Human Factor and the Lived Experience – Joan shares his take on human beings and the lived experience.
[31:27] Operationalisation of Well-Being – Emphasising that mental health must be integrated into all aspects of employment, Joan expresses her thoughts on the operationalisation of well-being.
[40:22] Peer Support – Enquiring about the effectiveness of peer support in assisting pilots with mental health issues and whether this type of help is appropriate for mental health issues, Paul provides his perspective on peer support in mental health issues.
[46:25] Message to the Listeners – Joan and Paul give their takeaway message to anyone listening to the podcast in the aviation sector.
Resources:
Connect with Joan
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joan-cahill-b9751355/?originalSubdomain=ie
Connect with Paul
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paul-cullen-grad-iosh-64759426/
Quotes:
“We think that we need to change the narrative on mental health. Mental health is a performance-shaping factor, but we're looking at how it degrades safety rather than enhances safety.”
“Our job is to promote positive psychology. If we do that, we can strengthen the pilots and strengthen the safety of the airplanes.”
“Many workplaces are not health-promoting; there is a stigma in reporting mental health issues across these different industries.”
“We are keen to promote an approach to looking at data and gathering data in a de-identified way to better manage well-being. And, you know, in terms of, you know, how the workplace managed as well being on a preventative approach.”
“If you lose your hamster, you look at the water in the bowl. You look at the environment in which your pet lived, which is why it died. So why, when we look at our staff's suffering, why do we look at the staff instead of the environment they're working in?”
In general, in most industries, the stigma is fed by fear. However, in aviation, the stigma is fed by a real threat of losing one's ability to put food on the table and a roof