Guest blog by Laura Baxter
1:45am. LAX hotel room. Wide awake. When it came to being jet-lagged (especially on the West Coast of USA where there is an 8-hour time difference to the UK), I had two options - I could complain about it on social media like a lot of cabin crew, or I could create my own strategy to deal with it. While working as a long-haul flight attendant was incredible, the physical obstacles of having no sleep pattern and constantly changing time zones were no joke. Some were out of my control, but I wanted to manage the things that were in my control as best I could.
I found myself jotting down notes about how I managed my sleep. This then branched out into other wellbeing advice specifically aimed at cabin crew (such as resilience when faced with a difficult situation onboard). I didn’t realise it then, but those moments would eventually shape both my interest in workplace wellbeing and my journey into occupational health.
Before aviation, I completed a BA in Psychology followed by an MSc in Business Psychology. Although I found human behaviour and wellbeing fascinating academically, it was not until I experienced the demands of long-haul flying firsthand that I truly began to understand how closely physical and psychological health are connected in the workplace.
Fatigue became one of the biggest challenges for me personally. Working night flights, constantly adjusting to different time zones and trying to maintain healthy routines while travelling made it difficult to properly rest and recover. I have a vivid memory of working my first night flight from Oakland to Oslo - I had never worked during the night in my life and was brutally exhausted. I remember asking the crew hopefully, “Does working night flights ever get easier?!” and one of the girls very flatly said, “No". Like many cabin crew, I became very aware of how quickly poor sleep could affect mood, concentration, resilience and overall wellbeing.
Over time, I started making notes about the things that genuinely helped me cope better. Initially, this was simply about sleep management (napping for four hours before working a night flight, sleeping during crew rest) but gradually it developed into broader wellbeing advice aimed specifically at cabin crew. I became increasingly interested in topics such as resilience, mental wellbeing, emotional regulation and how people manage high-pressure situations while still delivering exceptional service and maintaining professionalism.
One of the most important lessons I learned is that people often become highly skilled at masking stress and exhaustion in customer-facing roles. In aviation, professionalism is expected at all times, even when somebody may be physically drained, emotionally overwhelmed or struggling personally. I think this is something that applies across many industries, not just aviation.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought major disruption to the airline industry and, like many others, I found myself facing redundancy. It was an incredibly uncertain period and one that forced me to reflect on what I wanted from my future career.
Eventually, I transitioned into an office-based role within occupational health administration. The change from cabin crew life to a structured office environment was significant. After years of irregular hours and disrupted sleep, having a consistent routine and normal sleep pattern felt unfamiliar at first, but also refreshing. It also gave me the opportunity to learn more about occupational health from a completely different perspective.
One thing I particularly value about occupational health is that it sits at the intersection of work and humanity. Behind every referral, report or assessment is a real person trying to balance their health, responsibilities, finances, ambitions and personal life. Sometimes workplace wellbeing conversations can become overly focused on policies and productivity, but lived experience matters too.
Alongside my day job, I continue developing Sky High Wellbeing, a wellbeing platform inspired by my experiences in aviation. For me, it is less about creating a business and more about creating something meaningful from the challenges I experienced myself.
If there is one thing my career journey has taught me, it is that wellbeing at work is never one-size-fits-all. Different industries face different pressures, and often the most valuable insights come from listening to the lived experiences of the people doing the work every day.
For anyone considering a career in occupational health or workplace wellbeing, I would encourage them to stay curious, stay empathetic and never underestimate the value of real-world experience. Sometimes the challenges we struggle with personally become the very experiences that shape the way we support others in the future.
Laura Baxter is an Occupational Health Adminstrator and Founder of Sky High.