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Abstract
Expanding on the literature on rapport-building behavior within the airline industry, this study analyzed the influence of rapport-building behaviors (uncommonly attentive behavior, common-grounding behavior, courteous behavior, connecting behavior, and information-sharing behavior) on cabin crew members’ empathy toward their colleagues. We also analyzed the effect of empathy on variables such as team performance, organizational atmosphere, and instances of irregularity. We analyzed 230 samples obtained from an online questionnaire and convenience sampling of full-service domestic and international carriers in South Korea. A structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that uncommonly attentive behavior, courteous behavior, connecting behavior, and information-sharing behavior showed a positive effect on empathy among colleagues, which in turn positively influenced team performance, organizational atmosphere, and possible irregularities. Moreover, we found that the presence of participants’ closest colleagues within the same team did not moderate the relationship between rapport-building and empathic behavior between airline crew members. Our study has important implications for crew members’ dignity and protection from emotional labor while working in high-pressure environments. Our findings can be used to revise the airline industry’s crew management guidelines and improve the crew’s psychological health and quality of life.
Highlights
To date, in South Korea, there has been a constant interest regarding ways to improve airline cabin crew’s performance and the services offered to the customers
We tested the paths from rapport-building behaviors to crew members’ empathy toward their colleagues, and we found significant positive paths from uncommonly attentive behavior to empathy toward colleagues (β = 0.368, p < 0.001), from courteous behavior to empathy toward colleagues (β = 0.221, p < 0.05), from connecting behavior to empathy toward colleagues (β = 0.229, p < 0.01), and from information-sharing behavior to empathy toward colleagues (β = 0.193, p < 0.05)
Our study showed that the impact of rapport-building behaviors on cabin crew members’ empathy toward colleagues could be seen in the following order from the strongest to the weakest: (1) uncommonly attentive behavior; (2) connecting behavior; (3) courteous behavior; and (4) information-sharing behavior
Summary
In South Korea, there has been a constant interest regarding ways to improve airline cabin crew’s performance and the services offered to the customers. Most recent studies have focused on ensuring the human rights of individual cabin crew members and on other psychological and emotional aspects of the job [1,2,3]. The purpose of this study is to confirm the effectiveness of rapport-building behavior among cabin crew members in enhancing their cooperation with each other and increasing the synergy effect achieved. A literature review revealed that rapport-building behavior strengthens the psychological trust between the service provider and the customer, and it improves the quality of interaction between them [4]. There are studies that report that the more empathetic the leader is, the higher the member’s job satisfaction is likely to
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