The good professor and his co-authors are correct, but part of the problem is that airline managements view of morale (and indeed morality) has changed dramatically in the past few years. It is analagous to the monkeys climbing the palm tree; the monkeys at the top looking down see smiling (perhaps grimacing) faces looking upwards, whilst the monkeys at the bottom only see @ssholes.
A cursory read of some of the threads on these pages refer to some of the problems :-
- bases closing, causing relocation and family stress
- jobs lost with no immediate prospect of alternative employment
- the employer view that the cost burden of training should be borne by employees
- the willingness of employees to undercut (or undermine) each other for promotion or advancement
That employers see the above as being
good is a major part of the problem. That a few ladder-climbers are willing to prostitute themselves for short-term gain is an additional problem.
Airline bosses seem to show no less contempt for their customers either, but the difference is customers often have a choice. Employees usually do not. I am not singling out any particular company here; with rare exceptions, they all seem to have embraced the view that employees are expensive and expendable, rather than valuable.
Thankfully Chesley Sullenberger attempted to use his brief celebrity status to publicise some of these problems, but like when CRM was introduced, those who could benefit most from his advice were not listening.