THE HUMAN ERROR
As stress increases along the bottom, so performance also increases. Under the curve are “basic living stressors.” These are simply stressors such as if you don’t work, you can’t afford to keep making payments on your new truck. Then there are the “basic job stressors.” These are the normal, “We need to get this aircraft out right now,” etc. stressors. There is then a “capacity to cope” area before the “caution” (stall warning) and “distress” (the stall, and all hell breaks loose). At the beginning of the curve is a Danger 1. This is an area of low stress, but also low performance. (I hope you recognize this danger — but if you don’t, go back to the June 2016 issue for a refresher.) On the upswing side of the curve is the “go go stress.” This is the good stuff that motivates us to do things. It is management’s job to push our lazy butts up this stress curve (and some of them are very good at that). For example, I suspect you all
know about the “hangar queen,” the damaged aircraft that they want you to work on when you have nothing to do. What happens? With no stress, more parts come off of it for other aircraft and it collects dust with nothing being done to repair it. Then the boss comes in and says that he’s sold the aircraft and it has to be airworthy in one month’s time. When will it be ready? Exactly one month later. Perhaps we could call this the procrastination curve. There are limits to the amount of
stress that will produce performance. At the top of the curve is the “so so stress.” This is the realm of the high achievers but they can’t stay up there continuously, or burnout will occur. With burnout, tasks that were easily accomplished become more difficult to accomplish. The symptoms of chronic stress become stronger and the person must take a break from the stressor or a nervous breakdown or worse can occur.
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The “no no stresss” sees
performance dropping off dramatically even with the high stressor. If it is acute stress, panic may set in. In the case of chronic stress the nervous breakdown is a real possibility.
An example of this occurred many
years ago in the days of red lines painted on each side of the nose gear that a pushback turn was not to exceed. Right at a busy time, the turn limits were exceeded and the nose gear mechanism was damaged. A crew chief who was known for getting the job done was given overtime with his crew to repair the damage. They had to remove the nose gear,
replace the broken parts, replace the gear and carry out a retraction test. By that time it was morning, and as the aircraft was being taxied to the ramp and waiting passengers, word came down that the nose gear had collapsed. A man who was more than 50 years old sat down on the hangar floor and began crying. You could have threatened him with a gun, but there was no more performance possible from that crew chief. At that moment, he would not have cared it you had shot him. Fatigue and self-pressure had joined up with stress to cause the nervous breakdown.
What can we do if we feel like
we are beginning to slide down the backside of the curve? STOP – There are no sabre-toothed
tigers in your life at the moment. LOOK – At the problem rationally. What is the reality of the situation? What is the worst that could happen to me? What can I do to achieve a more positive outcome? LISTEN – Listen to a calm mind. What do I have control of? What is the best rational plan to deal with what I have control of? ACT – This can be the tough part – doing something. Break it down into small steps. Like climbing Mt. Everest, it starts one step at a time. Other steps that can help are: Seek professional help. If you feel that the stressor is like an eight- track in your head, then get help. Many companies have an employee assistance plan (EAP) available. Exercise and eat a banana. Remember that adrenaline gets dumped into your bloodstream under high stress. Exercise helps burn that off and the banana helps rebalance the potassium you lose under high stress Talk to someone. Try to ensure it is to a person who can listen to you about the stressor starting to control your life. They at least will likely not be emotionally involved.
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