It’s a high flying, high stress industry
Let’s face it: most jobs are stressful. In the aviation industry, stressors of flight may range from a slight inconvenience to a significant wear on aircrew fatigue and performance. You individual work-life balance is necessary to keep these stressors in check.
Pillars of Wellness
There are many “pillars” that are foundational to wellness including: emotional, physical, spiritual, social and family. These pillars are important to help ensure pilots place value in maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The physical distances that are innate to many flying jobs can cause substantial emotional stress on relationships. Thankfully, technology offers many options to help maintain more constant and consistent communications. It is also important for aircrews to stay social on the road. Dinner with crewmembers is another way to help ensure social and emotional health.
In terms of physical wellness, overall fitness plays a huge role. While it can be challenging to stay active on trips, it needs to remain a priority. Good physical fitness boosts energy levels and may lead to other healthy habits and wellness.
Perhaps one of the hardest pillars to fully define is the spiritual. For some individuals the spiritual pillar may be associated with a religion, for others it may be something less defined. Regardless, it should serve to better the individual’s mental wellbeing and state.
The social and family pillars relate back to the value of the emotional pillar. Each pillar carries importance in managing balance in one’s life.
Keeping Stressors at Bay
Pillars of wellness are a pilot’s best defense against the immense stressors that come with jobs in the aviation industry, as well as others. By valuing the pillars and continuing to practice a healthy work-life balance pilots can achieve their best life both in the air, and on the land.
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