Key words
change fatigue, human factors, aviation safety, organizational change, psychological fatigue
Abstract
Aviation organizations are operating in an era of rapid, overlapping transformation that places continuous cognitive and emotional demands on personnel. Traditional aviation fatigue frameworks emphasize physiological mechanisms such as sleep loss, circadian disruption, and extended duty hours driving fatigue risk management systems. This conceptual paper introduces change fatigue: a psychological form of fatigue arising from cumulative, frequent, or poorly sequenced organizational change that depletes cognitive and emotional resources and undermines safety-critical performance. Drawing on stress and coping theory, the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), and ICAO’s Human Performance Framework, it develops a multilevel integrative model linking perceived change load, resource adequacy, cognitive overload, and psychological safety to outcomes such as vigilance loss, reduced procedural adherence, and decision errors. Three testable propositions are offered, and practical implications are outlined for integrating change-related indicators into fatigue risk management systems and safety management systems. A research agenda emphasizing measure development, longitudinal and multilevel designs, and intervention evaluation is recommended. Recognizing change fatigue as a latent human-factors risk expands the domain of fatigue management to include organizationally induced psychological strain that can compromise safety even when physiological fatigue controls are in place.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Douglas, S.
(2026).
The Human Toll of Change: Reframing Fatigue as a Latent Risk in Aviation Human Factors.
Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 35(2).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58940/2329-258X.2224
