Detractors to Wellbeing in Atc - Identifying Causes of Absenteeism and Presenteeism

Preview Question

Are absenteeism and presenteeism (A&P) detractors to wellbeing in Atc?

Are absenteeism and presenteeism (A&P) detractors to wellbeing in Atc? No, they are not. Since there is a strong association with motivation in both instances, we can look at A&P as effects of detractors.  

Remember TODPA and BUPA from our last post? TODPA is TOp Down Process Approach. If a manager is inadequately trained for her role in the Atc unit, she will be more inclined to make generalizations about absenteeism and presenteeism and let her  perceptions guide her. The second approach BUPA is Bottom Up Processing Approach. The trained manager uses organizational stimuli to tackle the issues of A&P. 

Doing an objective analysis or simultaneously employing both approaches is highly beneficial because she obtains a more comprehensive picture of the situation in question. It is with good reason that managers in Atc units receive adequate training so that they will be objective in dealing with organizational issues in Atc and not allow personal perception to cloud their judgement.

Detractors to wellbeing in Atc demotivates the Atco. A demotivated Atco will find it easier to be  absent from work because of other priorities. Conversely she can be present at work but derives minimal happiness from Atc because she is not fully engaged in the job. 

Presenteeism - present at work but demotivated

A behavioral economist will proffer a microeconomic explanation based on utility and job satisfaction. Simply put, in the context of Atc, a controller will make choices that allows her to maximise her gains on wellbeing - her utility on wellbeing. If she would rather be elsewhere but felt compelled to be present for work, her motivation will be low. 

Presenteeism is associated with lack of motivation. Yes, detractors take away from our wellbeing and increases our dissatisfaction in the Atc unit. It is this dissatisfaction that decreases motivation or engagement to Atc and the controller maximises her utility by being absent. Since Atc is based on teamwork or a shift system of teams, the Atco may feel compelled to conform to principles of group dynamics and present herself for work even though her utility maximisation will be smaller. That's what the behavioural economist will say. 

The organizational psychologist on the other hand will tell us that detraction stems from poor organizational ethics and mismanagement. Recent studies reveal that narcissism is at the core of organizational inefficiency. From narcissism, we get passive abusive supervision trickling downward from the highest management levels, yes from the very tip, to the support staff. Narcissism and Emotional Dissonance are the 2 major detractors in Atc. We will take a closer look at those 2 conditions in later posts. The latest issue of the Controller (published by IFATCA) has an article on Emotional Dissonance in Atc. 

The question is, how can the trained manager use an objective analysis in dealing with A&P? This will be answered in Sunday/Monday's post. We will also learn how to employ the use of an empirical study in the objective analysis of absenteeism and presenteeism. 

Bon weekend à tous!!

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