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source of stress in atc

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Old 26th Sep 2004, 11:42
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source of stress in atc

Hi guys..need some help. Currently conducting a survey regarding source of stress among controllers. Is it because of traffic or is it because of coordination procedures from other units?.Any websites in particular? Many tks.
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Old 26th Sep 2004, 12:00
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The subject has been fairly extensively covered already on this forum, have you tried using the search facility? Hopefully this will give you the information you are looking for.

Cheers.
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Old 26th Sep 2004, 14:24
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I think I speak for most atc's the world over, when saying the source of most stress is the oxygen thief managers who make an enjoyable fun job, a chore. Bean counting and penny pinching, and a complete lack of understanding of ATC as a profession makes managers in ATC companies generally the biggest cause of stress on controllers. Handling traffic is the easy part of the job.
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Old 26th Sep 2004, 14:50
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Grrr

Stress in ATC?


MANAGEMENT, MANAGEMENT & POLITICS!
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Old 26th Sep 2004, 15:03
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stress in atc

Hi....Niknak tks alot. Tried the search forum but couldn,t get anything out of it. Any study/website/book etc. tks 4 the info.
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Old 26th Sep 2004, 15:28
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Try driving to work around the M25 on a Friday afternoon about 4:00. That's enough to stress anybody out!

The stress thing was discussed somewhat recently here
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Old 26th Sep 2004, 17:15
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Recently, one of the main causes of stress at West Drayton was when the Starbucks machine went t/u for nearly a whole week. How the hell are we supposed to function?
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Old 27th Sep 2004, 01:47
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Management. I’m even willing to overlook incompetence and penny-pinching. What I cannot overlook, however, is mean-spiritedness. This is to say, the propensity of (some members of) management to make life difficult for controllers simply because they can.
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Old 27th Sep 2004, 15:28
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...cause of streeeesssssss

......without a doubt........






.....MANAGEMENT . Especially their unwillingness to act on requests or suggestions to improve the system or environment.
It always seems that if the suggestion doesn't come from them then it is no good.
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Old 28th Sep 2004, 17:56
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.............PILOTS..........
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Old 28th Sep 2004, 19:21
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DICK

sorry mate I disagree.

without pilots, we would have to concentrate our efforts elsewhere, e.g. on nights two weeks ago, a particularly bothersome moth got stuck between the cooling fan of the computer that drives the radar software and the computer hardware.
I didnt have any aeroplanes to talk to for 2 hours, therefore my source of stress was releasing the moth without causing it harm and the ensuring that the engineers didnt know that I had bought screwdrivers into work (again).
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Old 28th Sep 2004, 19:48
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source of stress in atc

Politics
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Old 28th Sep 2004, 20:36
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Firstly: Politics is certainly the biggset contributing factor in Switzerland. The politicians and anti-aircraft-lobby make up procedures regardless of safety....and that is stressing.
Secondly: When you look across at the neighbouring sector and see how badly that controller works because he / she is not really interested or just plain lazy, then thats extremely stressing!!!
Thirdly: People asking me about the causes of my high stress levels.....

All very very stressing. Another scotch please if you will.
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Old 28th Sep 2004, 21:30
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Another scotch please if you will.
Ok, when and where?
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Old 28th Sep 2004, 23:49
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Seeing as nobody else seems willing to give a helpful reply... apart from very busy traffic, stress for me at work usually involves (in no particular order):

-dealing with French ATC units
-bunching of traffic thanks to our marvellous flow control system
-working with certain colleagues who shall remain nameless...
-controlling traffic in holding stacks
-dealing with the effects of bad weather on busy traffic situations
-pilots not listening (including those that transmit when you're waiting for a reply from another aircraft)
-trying to get the computer to accept something which seems perfectly straightforward to me (and not having the slightest idea what the resultant error message means!)
-being moaned at for something you've done/not done when its quite obvious that you are busy and you didn't do it deliberately
-dealing with emergencies

I'm not saying that this means I turn into a quivering wreck at the mere hint of any of these, just that the job would be easier without them... I can't say I've ever been stressed out by politics at work, but maybe thats because I don't know enough about whats going on!

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Old 29th Sep 2004, 07:18
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Unhappy Its A No Brainer......

Dealing with London.....


you knew it was coming.

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Old 29th Sep 2004, 12:26
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Australian Perspective:

1. Politics (Dick Smith combined with a weak, ignorant, technically handicapped federal government)
2. Management
3. Management
4. Privatisation
5. Short Staffing
6. Roster Stability
7. Non-sensical changes to procedure - that get reversed a month later.
8. Shift Work
9. Insufficient Leave
10. management

But.... working heavy traffic, dealing with foreign or unfamiliar or low time pilots - always rewarding and insignificant in stress terms.

Trying to that whilst subject to items 1-10...... grrrrrr.
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Old 29th Sep 2004, 17:26
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controllers saying they can limit FIS !!!!!

Sorry, but I just couldn't resist that one

oh and of course trying to co-ordinate with fighter controllers
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