She hopes people see her first and foremost as a good person, then as a researcher, and only then as transgender. “I've always been Lea, after all. Growing up in Singapore and New Zealand, I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a girl. But I was raised in a fairly conservative environment and was afraid to come out. My parents thought a stint in the army would do me good. I hid my feelings for years.”

Until she found herself in Vienna for her work, that is. “My current employer is very empathetic and really prioritises employees’ wellbeing. That’s not the case everywhere, unfortunately. It was the first time I felt I didn’t have to pretend to be something I wasn’t. During the corona lockdowns everything just came out and I decided to transition. The relief was sensational.”

A safer airspace

Vink is head of Human Performance Management and Human Factors at Austro Control, an organisation that monitors Austrian airspace. “I focus on how air-traffic controllers can do their work as well, safely and enjoyably as possible,” she says. A large part of her job is devoted to research on organisational psychology. Vink is investigating whether it is possible to predict how tired air-traffic controllers are without asking them personally. She also wants to know when people start making unconscious mistakes due to fatigue. “People tend to overestimate themselves and work too long without a break. This can be dangerous, especially as an air-traffic controller. We hope this research will help to optimise HR planning in the air-traffic control tower and promote sustainable employability. That’s not only safer but also makes everyone happier.”

Getting into air-traffic controllers’ heads doesn’t require complicated brain experiments. “My team and I use applied psychological research. We compare existing algorithms and predictions with the results of our own observations and psychological tests, then check to what extent these data match.”