Work, Gender, and Sexual Harassment on the Frontlines of Commercial Travel: A Cross-Sectional Study of Flight Crew Well-Being

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background The scale and scope of experience of sexual harassment at work among male and female flight attendants was examined. Flight attendants are a predominantly female workforce with an occupational heritage of female and male sexualized stereotypes. Method Data represented perception and prevalence of sexual harassment related to hostile work environment among 8,700 North American (U.S. and Canada) and 1,887 United Kingdom (UK) flight attendants in the Flight Attendant Health Study. Results Sexual harassment, mostly from passengers, pilots, and coworkers, was reported by 26% of North American flight attendants and 11% of UK flight attendants. Yet, 61% of UK flight attendants experienced unwanted sexual behaviors, pointing to possible underreporting of the sexual harassment problem. Sexually offensive behaviors received variable labeling as sexual harassment depending on gender of the victim and perpetrator profile. Conclusion Sexual harassment is a potentially underreported workplace problem for flight attendants with underreporting resulting from gender-specific differences in individual perceptions. Understanding these differences is vital to addressing sexual harassment and the concomitant health risks. Traditional client and customer attitudes might lead to rose-colored victims’ judgment, especially in the case of customer service jobs involving emotional labor. Our results provide new information to guide future research regarding well-being of this understudied group of service employees.