FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
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Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-00/17

Title and Subtitle: Age and attitudes in the air traffic control specialist workforce: An initial investigation

Report Date: May 2000

Authors: Thompson, R.C., and Bailey, L.L.

Abstract: The present study examines the relationships between air traffic control specialist age, after covarying job tenure, with perceptions of job satisfaction, quality of work life, organizational commitment, and supervisory fairness. The presence of a relationship and the shape of the relationship are examined for four categories of controllers based on air traffic option or work setting (i.e., working in an enroute, flight service stations, Level 1 to 3 or level 4 or 5 terminal (towers and tracons)). The results suggest that there is a small linear relationship between age and attitudes. Similar patterns have been found in age research in other work settings.

There are some differences in the shape of the age function based on air traffic option; these differences account for minimal variance. It may be fruitful to develop a more focused study where age is measured as a continuous variable instead of using age categories, which may have masked some differences found in past research. In addition, future research may consider examining the age and attitudes relationships using international controllers to determine if there are cultural differences in the relationships found.

Key Words: Organization Climate Perceptions, Air Traffic Control Specialists, Age

No. of Pages: 12