Professional motivation and the level of emotional burnout among civil aviation pilots

Abstract

The paper provides the results of the empirical study of professional motivation and the level of emotional burnout among flight crew members of Vladivostok international airport. The study involved 40 civil aviation pilots aged 30–45 years having more than 5 years of work experience. K. Zamfir’s “Motivation of professional activity” technique (A. Rean’s modification) and the questionnaire for assessing motivational potential were used for studying professional motivation. The level of emotional burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in N. E. Vodop'yanova’s modification and V. V. Boyko’s “Diagnostics of the level of emotional burnout” technique (E. P. Ilyin’s modification).The study findings suggest that the civil aviation pilots (a) were interested in the process of their professional activities, (b) tried to be a part of the staff and to build friendly relationship with colleagues, and (c) had a prevailing intrinsic professional motivation.The study showed that most pilots (n = 22) had an average level of emotional burnout. Moreover, the data revealed (a) stress and fatigue, (b) decrease in professional effectiveness, (c) cognitive decline, (d) avoidance as a defense mechanism, and (e) refusing problem solving. A third of the respondents had a high level of emotional burnout. These respondents noted physical and emotional fatigue, exhaustion of personal resources, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, and somatic disorders (loss of appetite, headaches, and disturbances of sleep and wakefulness). A fifth of the pilots had a low level of emotional burnout. This finding suggests that these respondents are well-adjusted to their professional activities; they are selfcritical and frank. Besides, increasing the rates of emotional burnout did not change the orientation of motivation (from intrinsic to extrinsic).