Does flight crew work motivation and enthusiasm change with increasing tenure?: The case of Turkish Airlines

The aim of this research was to determine the change of work motivation and work enthusiasm levels of the flight crew. The universe of the research consists of the flight crew who work at Turkish Airlines. The selection of 225 flight crew who are included in the sample of this study was made by a convenience sampling method. The data in the study were collected through an online questionnaire form consisting of three main parts. The SPSS 20 program was used in the analysis of data. As a result, a positive but weak relationship was found between the intrinsic motivation levels of the flight crew and the levels of absorption, dedication and vigor. There was no statistically significant relationship between the extrinsic motivation levels of the flight crew and their absorption attitudes, dedications and vigors. Motivation levels of the flight crew did not differ according to age, educational status, marital status, working time in the aviation sector, working time in the company and position in the flight crew, but it was found that the extrinsic motivation levels of male flight crew personnel were higher than female flight crew personnel. The work enthusiasm attitudes of the flight crew did not differ according to their education status, marital status, working time in the aviation sector, and working time in the company. Absorption and dedication levels of female flight crew personnel were higher than male flight crew personnel. The vigor of the participants did not differ according to gender. However, the vigor of the older crew personnel was found to be lower than the younger ones. The absorption and dedication levels of the flight crew did not differ