Award Date

May 2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Committee Member

Rebecca Rice

Second Committee Member

Laura Martinez

Third Committee Member

Nicholas Tatum

Fourth Committee Member

Linda Dam

Number of Pages

80

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented levels of volatility to all hospitality industries, including aviation. Such levels of volatility have highlighted a need to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on flight crew communication. This study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intra-flight crew communication and the emotional labor flight crew members experienced. Utilizing the theoretical frameworks of facework, politeness theory, emotional labor, and emotional management, this study examined how participants communicated through the tumult of this time period. This study discovered heavy usage of surface acting and increased levels of emotional labor through 28 qualitative interviews with flight attendants, first officers, and captains, that flew during this time. Most significantly, flight attendants experienced the most emotional labor, but felt they could not share this burden with others on the flight crew.

Keywords

COVID-19; Emotional Labor; Flight Attendants; Flight Crew Communication; Organizational Communication; Pilots

Disciplines

Communication

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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