Release date: June 18, 2007

Emory Researcher Explores Work Struggles of Flight Attendants in Book

Contact: Beth Kurylo, 404-296-2480, ekurylo@emory.edu
Contact: Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu

Thousands of U.S. flight attendants have left their jobs since 9/11 because of layoffs, pay cuts and the emotional toll of a high stress job, according to a new book by Emory researcher Drew Whitelegg. He says flight attendants' replacements earn much less, have less job security and face working conditions that make it difficult to balance work and family obligations.

These are among the findings in "Working the Skies: The Fast-Paced, Disorienting World of the Flight Attendant," written by Whitelegg, director of special projects at the Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life (MARIAL).

The book is based on interviews with more than 60 flight attendants and labor leaders, and draws upon Whitelegg's observations while flying across the country and overseas in the past five years.

"The industry has embarked upon one of the most savage restructuring efforts in its short history, with roughly 10,000 fewer flight attendants nationwide out of a pre-9/11 total of 110,000," Whitelegg says in the book, published by New York University Press.

In addition, flight attendants are losing the power they once had to create working schedules that allowed them to spend more time with family once they earned enough seniority. Roughly 80 percent of flight attendants are women, Whitelegg says, and half have dependents at home -- either children or aging parents.

Whitelegg interviewed many veteran flight attendants who chose to work weekends when their children were young because their husbands could watch them. Then during the week, the women could be home, available to volunteer at school and drive carpools. Those who flew international routes would be gone for several days at a time, but then could be home for longer periods of time between flights. It was a career that allowed them to balance work and family, even though, like many working mothers, they wrestled with guilt when they were away from their families.

Most of today's flight attendants are not able to create their own schedules. Many are "on reserve" and have to race to the airport whenever they are called to work. As airlines cut back on staff and supplies, flight attendants have found it more difficult to do their jobs.

"We don't have pillows, we don't have plastic spoons anymore," one unnamed flight attendant told Whitelegg. "We don't have plastic wings anymore. Kids love those wings. I'm so embarrassed…"

Since 9/11, many flight attendants had to deal with children and family members who didn't want them to fly, Whitelegg said. In one case, children hid their mother's uniform in the hope it would keep her on the ground.

Parting from loved ones is particularly painful, he says, because anything is possible and you might not come home. "You make sure you say 'goodbye' and 'I love you' every time you leave… just in case," a flight attendant told Whitelegg.

Whitelegg did much of the research while he was a postdoctoral fellow at the MARIAL Center. He has taught classes at Emory on gender in the workplace. He holds a Ph.D. in geography from King's College in London.

The MARIAL Center is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It is one of five Sloan Centers on Working Families. The Emory Center focuses its research on the functions and significance of ritual and myth in middle-class families in which both parents work outside the home.

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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