In the high-stakes world of aviation, safety is more than a checklist—it’s a mindset. But what if we told you that the secret to safer behavior in aviation doesn’t start with rules or procedures, but with something deeply personal: passion for the job?
Recent research we conducted with over 500 professionals in Turkey’s civil aviation sector reveals a compelling truth: employees who are passionate about their work—specifically, those with “harmonious passion”—are more likely to behave safely on the job. In other words, when employees love their work in a balanced and autonomous way, they naturally act with greater awareness and responsibility, especially in safety-critical environments like aviation.
Let’s pause and unpack this idea of “work passion.” Psychologists distinguish between two types:
Harmonious passion, where individuals engage in work they love, but in a way that stays in balance with the rest of their lives.
Obsessive passion, where the job becomes an uncontrollable need—dominating one’s thoughts and behaviors, often at the expense of well-being.
Our findings show that harmonious passion has a clear, positive impact on safety behavior, both in following procedures and in voluntarily promoting a safer workplace. Obsessive passion, on the other hand, showed no significant benefit—and in some other studies, it’s even linked to burnout and risky behavior.
But the story doesn’t end there. We also explored a psychological trait called the “locus of control”—whether individuals believe they can influence what happens to them, or if they think outcomes are shaped by luck, fate, or other external forces. Unsurprisingly, employees with an internal locus of control (those who believe their actions make a difference) were also more likely to engage in safe behavior. In fact, this belief fully mediated the relationship between passion and safety. Harmonious or even obsessive passion had the strongest positive effect when paired with a strong internal belief in personal responsibility.
So what does this mean for airlines, airports, and aviation leaders?
It means that if we want safer behavior—not just compliance, but true safety culture—we need to do more than enforce rules. We need to fuel harmonious passion and cultivate a mindset of responsibility. That starts with the way we recruit, train, recognize, and support aviation personnel.
Some practical takeaways:
Foster autonomy: Let employees feel ownership of their roles. Avoid micro-management and allow room for initiative.
Promote work-life balance: Harmonious passion thrives when people can integrate work with a healthy personal life. Shift planning and task design matter.
Recruit for attitude: Prioritize candidates who demonstrate emotional intelligence, responsibility, and decision-making maturity.
Train for mindset, not just skills: Develop programs that strengthen employees’ belief in their impact on safety outcomes.
The aviation sector has long understood the role of technical skills and regulatory compliance in preventing accidents. But human psychology—how people feel about their work, and how much control they believe they have—can be the invisible lever that moves us from “safe enough” to “safety excellence.” And that, in the end, might be our most valuable pre-flight check of all.