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Managing Spaceflight Team Stress: Considerations for Multiteam System Research

Laura Bauer (Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA)

Caton Weinberger (Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA)

Dorothy R. Carter (Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA)

Lauren Blackwell Landon (NASA, Houston, TX, USA)

Stress and Well-Being in Teams

ISBN: 978-1-83797-732-1, eISBN: 978-1-83797-731-4

Publication date: 6 September 2024

Abstract

Large-scale and complex issues tend to require a system of interconnected teams (i.e., multiteam systems) that offer more manpower, resources, and flexibility to meet more challenging demands. However, multiteam systems often work within “extreme environments” that can be very stressful, and the impact of this stress can deplete team members’ Well-Being and hinder team performance. Current research on multiteam systems does not address the need to understand how environmental stressors may impact component teams and overall team functioning and how multiteam systems in these environments can regulate stress to overcome these problems. NASA’s spaceflight multiteam system provides a unique example that organizational researchers can look at to understand how the Mission Control team helps regulate stress in the spaceflight team operating within an isolated, confined, and extreme environment. This chapter articulates how NASA’s spaceflight multiteam system stress regulation practices can inform organizational psychologists and advance our understanding of multiteam system functioning.

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Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

LB, CW, and DRC contributions were supported by NASA award #80NSSC23K1124. LBL was supported by KBR’s Human Health and Performance Contract #NNJ15HK11B through NASA. The authors of this report are entirely responsible for its content. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA or KBR.

Citation

Bauer, L., Weinberger, C., Carter, D.R. and Landon, L.B. (2024), "Managing Spaceflight Team Stress: Considerations for Multiteam System Research", Harms, P.D. and Chang, C.-H.(D). (Ed.) Stress and Well-Being in Teams (Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, Vol. 22), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-355520240000022008

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited