Fear of Flying Can Cripple workers, Limit their Careers

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Fear of Flying Can Cripple Workers, Limit Their Careers

(March 22, 2006) -- Businesswoman Marci Smith can pinpoint when things began to unravel at her last job. Two years ago, she boarded a flight in Atlanta en route to an important business meeting in Philadelphia.

She panicked at the thought of the looming airplane trip and began to cry. She got off the plane and rented a car to drive to the meeting, which, to the deep disappointment of the import company that employed her, she missed.

“Things went downhill from there, and I resigned” last May, said Smith.

Fear of flying cripples — or at least burdens — the careers of millions of Americans. Also known as aviaphobia, it causes many employees to pass up promotions or miss out-of-town meetings, training sessions or sales calls. It can decrease productivity and strain relationships with employers. In some cases, it limits careers by pigeonholing workers in jobs that they're not well-suited for but that will keep them firmly on the ground. Besides its toll on employees, fear of flying is detrimental to employers. Less-qualified employees may be hired for positions requiring air travel, and less-capable workers must be sent to out-of-town meetings and industry conferences. Jim Abelson, director of the Anxiety Disorders Program at the University of Michigan, says the cost to employers is “substantial.” Many employers “don't know the price they're paying,” because the cost is hidden, he says.

Fear of flying “is a huge problem,” says s Jerilyn Ross, president of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America. Like other phobias, it is an irrational, involuntary fear that causes a person to avoid everyday situations.

According to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll this month, 27 percent of U.S. adults would be at least somewhat fearful of getting on an airplane tomorrow, including 9 percent who would be “very afraid.” Public fears seem to have subsided since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorism. A comparable poll taken in November 2001 showed 43 percent at least somewhat afraid, including 17 percent who were “very afraid.”

Sept. 11 allowed many American workers who had been harboring fears to put a new spin on things.

“Prior to 9/11, fearful fliers were afraid and ashamed to admit to their bosses that they feared flying,” Ross says. “After 9/11, they felt their fears were justified, and it was socially acceptable to say so. They could get out of flying, and their boss would understand, although they should have been getting help.”

Tony Kornheiser is one prominent aviaphobe who could hardly be more open about the terror that flying instills. Kornheiser is a broadcaster and “Washington Post” sports columnist recently hired by ESPN to provide color commentary starting in September when the cable sports network begins broadcasting “Monday Night Football.”

As he was deciding whether to take the job, a major boost for his sports journalism career, Kornheiser anguished publicly about the air travel that would be involved. He ultimately accepted the job but is making plans to take a private bus to as many games as possible.

Recognizing the difficulty of getting to West Coast games, the 57-year-old Washington, D.C., resident says he's consulting a psychiatrist to combat his fear of flying. He longs to overcome the phobia.

“I've had a fear of flying from the moment I first stepped on a plane in my 20s,” he says. “There are so many places I'd like to go to, and I would love to get there quickly.”

Fear can be treated Many fliers fear loss of control, the confined space of an airplane cabin or a panic attack. Others fear heights or dying in an airplane crash, although they may not think twice about driving on highways, where thousands are killed each year. Most fearful fliers can be successfully treated to overcome their fears, Ross and other psychologists say. Companies and therapists who treat fearful fliers point to success rates above 90 percent. But many fearful fliers simply avoid flying and don't seek treatment.

Then again, some do. .

Angel Miller and Tracy Leskey, both federal government employees, sought help from former airline pilot Tom Bunn, who runs a company, Soar, that aims to conquer fliers' fears. They bought cassettes and DVDs from the company and were counseled on the phone by Bunn. They've been flying ever since. Leskey has even taken a marathon flight to a business conference in Australia and says she's looking forward to cashing in frequent-flier points for a free flight.

Leskey, 37, a government scientist who lives in West Virginia, says she was “a problem flier” before 9/11. After that day, her fear of flying “became paralyzing.” She was booked on a flight from Washington that would take her to a professional meeting in Fort Lauderdale in 2002 and instead spent 24 hours on a train getting there.

“It was excruciating, but at the same time, I felt a total sense of relief — at least I wasn't flying,” recalls Leskey, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “If I were, I would be gripping the seat waiting for the plane to go down.”

Leskey says she's not a drinker, but she tried alcohol a few times before seeking professional treatment for her phobia. The alcohol helped her board the flight, but “eventually, I would fall apart,” she recalls.

Miller says she was afraid of many things: “turbulence, the unknown, my vivid imagination, the anxiety I'd feel during the flight, a panic attack, the plane crashing, and dying.”

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The 50-year-old Boston resident, who works for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, didn't fly from 1985 to 1991. Then she stopped again in 1992 through 1998. After flying in 1999, she used Amtrak for all her business trips until 2004. She often had to use vacation days to account for the days traveling by train.

“My fear of flying kept me from attending training sessions, conferences and meetings in various parts of the country,” Miller says. “If it was not feasible to take Amtrak, I managed to get out of the travel. The last straw was when I turned down a conference in Los Angeles, also the city where my son attends college.”

Source: USA Today

Last updated -03/06

Fear of Flying Can Cripple Workers, Limit Their Careers

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