Farmers Have Lowest Levels Of Happiness Among Self-employed People

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Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 31 Jul 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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According to a new report published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, farmers fare badly on every measure of health and quality of life, despite the fact that self-employment has been shown to be advantageous for productivity.

Researchers from Finland accessed validated survey data to assess factors affecting productivity, perceived health, and quality of life among a random sample of 5,000 adults, aged 30-64, all of whom had been part of the National Health 2000 survey.

3,536 of the adults worked full-time, of which 90% completed questionnaires aimed at measuring perceived productivity, quality of life and health status. 10% of the full-time workers were self-employed entrepreneurs, of whom 3.5% were farmers. Farmers and entrepreneurs were generally older than the salaried workers.

All sole traders had, on average, lower educational levels and incomes, compare to their peers with staff and salaried workers.

Self-employed entrepreneurs scored highest on all three - productivity, perceived health, and quality of life. Farmers scored the lowest.

Over one third of farmers achieved either low or averages scores when it came to just productivity, compared to 16% of salaried workers and sole traders and 12% of entrepreneurs with staff.

Entrepreneurs with staff got similar scores to salaried workers when such factors as age, long-term conditions and loving relations were taken into account. Farmers got the lowest scores.

Previous studies have indicated that the major factor influencing health and wellbeing is having plenty of control and support, regardless of the demands made on the worker.

Self-employed people generally have more control over the working lives - however, their work tends to include more stress. The authors conclude that farmers require more emotional and social support.

"Quality of life, work ability, and self employment: a population survey of entrepreneurs, farmers, and salary earners"
Occup Environ Med 2007; doi: 10.1136/oem.2007.033423
http://oem.bmj.com

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
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