Office of Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports

FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute


Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-73/2

Title and Subtitle: Job attitudes of air traffic controllers: A comparison of three air traffic control specialties

Report Date: January 1973

Authors: Smith RC

Abstract: 792 JOURNEYMAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FROM ARTCC, TRACON, and FSS facilities answered a four-part questionnaire concerning
  1. what they liked and disliked about ATC work,
  2. how much they liked or disliked certain specific aspects of ATC work,
  3. how they felt about shift work, and
  4. their level of job satisfaction.

The three ATC specialties are compared for agreement in their job-related attitudes. The most negative attitudes were associated with night shifts. The findings are discussed in terms of the similarity of the controller groups to members of other occupations, and in terms of the significance of the findings for improving controller morale.

Key Words: Air Traffic Controller, Job Attitudes, Job Motivation, Personnel, Psychology, Psychological tests

No. of Pages: 31

Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012