Day 2 – Wednesday 2nd April 2014
Cabin Crew
Session 6B – Fatigue … Challenges & Solutions
Colette Hilliary, Director Cabin Crew Emergency Procedures, FlightSafety International
Dr. Shari Frisinger, President, CornerStone Strategies LLC
Countering the Effects of Interpersonal Emotional Contamination
ABSTRACT
Imagine a day that begins with gusto – highly energized for the day. The first leg of your first
flight proceeds without disruption – what a great planeful of passengers! The second leg,
well not so great; the crying baby annoyed everyone in the area and they expected you to
take action. Even though the noise gave you a minor headache, you remain elated. The next
segment of your day – well it continues to go downhill. Not only were there passenger
disruptions, there were also crew interaction annoyances. Another cabin crew member had
a fight with their spouse and one of the pilots is irritated because of his schedule. In the next
leg, one of the pilots had an argument with one of the cabin crew members, and the other
two cabin crew members do not get along. In addition, it seems with each subsequent flight
the passengers are getting crankier, more aggressive, more disruptive and less-thenpleasant. You find yourself tensing up and stressing out at the slightest annoyance. You,
illustrious cabin crew member, are experiencing emotional labor and emotional exhaustion.
This interactive session will explain how your emotional day resembles losing weight – and
ways to maintain your composure without strangling someone!