MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVE
I cringed as crews would hurriedly consume alcoholic beverages at the airplane before driving us all to the hotel. I cringed as I watched crew members talk each other into abiding by the FAA 8-hour rule instead of our organizational 12-hour rule. I watched an interesting sociologic phenomenon happen on mornings after crew appreciation nights as the crew met to up to drive back to the airport. Consistently, they would talk about how great they felt and how far they jogged early that morning and how much they enjoyed the fresh morning air. Anybody who saw them mere hours before would not believe a single hubris-filled word. If flying with a hangover is flying under the influence, then we routinely violated our organizational alcohol guidelines.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MANAGERS None of this, of course, is ok. For the managers out there that look the other way and let new hires figure this stuff out on their own, here is some advice — don’t! Don’t hang us out to dry like that. I understand the hypocrisy of my stance on this because I was a willing participant in the beginning, but I soon learned to create my own right answer out of a situation that had me choosing between selling out on integrity and isolation from the team. The potential consequences of abusing alcohol on these trips made the job and career seem not worth the risk. Managers: don’t ignore this. Let new employees know exactly what to expect. Better yet, work with your peers at the top level of the organization to create meaningful change. Create a culture of responsibility. I’m not saying don’t ever drink on the road — but maybe in some cases, don’t drink on the road. Figure out what responsibility means for your group and create guidelines that will not become meaningless words on a page in your operations manual.
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Those with positions of influence need to be the agents of change in this area. Cultural change efforts die when they start at the bottom of the organizational chart. The nature of small group sociology tends to create an aggressive reaction when one member of the group assigns personal accountability in a place where the group is historically protected behind a veil of shared responsibility. I fought through this reaction when I first decided to act independently. In some cases, I could awkwardly attend dinners without drinking alcohol. Sometimes it meant participating in some group activities while passing on others. In extreme cases, it meant skipping meals altogether because the captain refuses to surrender the rental car keys. Drinking and driving had been incrementally rationalized by the group so often that it become a consistent norm. Consequently, I began to remove myself entirely from these situations. To avoid riding in a car with a drunk driver (strange how this was so normalized at work even though I would not consider doing so in my personal life), I would avoid going out to meals with the crew. After a few trips, the whispers around the hangar began. My manager and some crew member friends would confide that the group had labeled me a “slam-Clicker” meaning that I slam and lock my hotel room door when we get to our destination. They wondered what my problem was and why I wasn’t fitting in with the team. I truly struggled with feeling marginalized. It felt as though I was viewed as problematic and less than successful, despite strong performance and confidence in every other area of my actual job. It would be great in that moment to feel the support of a strong advocate that carries the weight of real influence in the organization. Armed with the knowledge of what to expect as well as solid support
from a strong manager, a young energetic new hire could proceed confidently, believing themselves to be a part of the solution - enthusiastically driving progress towards a true, effective safety culture. Without an advocate, the new hire feels isolated and alone, anxiously questioning career choices. It’s incredibly lonely when it feels like sacrificing personal integrity is the only way to feel accepted on a team in a career that you KNOW you can be great at. Managers, don’t let alcohol use be the place where you decide to back off and let experience be the only guide. Partner with us in our training as closely and intentionally as you would with any other technical part of our job. If the culture of the organization supports rationalized alcohol abuse in a way that puts us all in danger, don’t be complicit. Let’s celebrate a new era by building a truly just safety culture that supports truth and integrity from the pre-flight to the slam click at the hotel. Speaking for all millennials gaining traction in this wonderful industry, we promise to bring passion and energy to the fight if our managers will support us by showing up with empathy, conviction, and fortitude in the political arena. We will all have stronger, safer teams if we can standardize integrity in this way.
Ben Janaitis is and A&P/IA and private pilot. He is NCATT AET certified and is an FSI G-550 and CL-300 Master
Technician. He has been working as an A&P for 10 years and is currently working for a Part 91 Corporate Flight Department. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine and graduated from the A&P certificate program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He currently lives in Delaware with his wife Jessica and three kids.
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