An examination of the attitudes’ of farmers towards health and safety, stress and fatigue during a global health crisis.

Bough, Debbie (2020) An examination of the attitudes’ of farmers towards health and safety, stress and fatigue during a global health crisis. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Due to profound differences in the way humans deal with emotions, it is plausible for every human to develop emotional or mental difficulties at some stage in their lives. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2017, pp.60) reports that one in two people will suffer from mental illness during their lifetime. Young farmers, both male and female, are predisposed to emotional or mental difficulties, for a multitude of reasons including their age (Kolstrup, Kallioniemi, Lundqvist, Kymalainen, Stallones, & Brumby, 2013).

Unlike previous studies undertaken by Kearney et al (2014) & Brennan (2015) which examined stressors among farmers during ‘normal’ economic conditions, this research focused on the needs and capabilities of young adults working in the agricultural industry, during a global health crisis. This gap in the literature provided for an examination of the current attitudes’ of farmers towards their own personal health and safety, as well as their fatigue and stress levels during this period. This research sought to examine if farmers, during a global health crisis succumb to the demands the industry and consumers place on them, or if they thrive, resulting in lower levels of stress and fatigue. It also endeavoured to understand if the global crisis impacted on the farmers ability to ensure health and safety precautions were followed.

This research involved a mixed methods qualitative and quantitative questionnaire which can be found in Appendix 3. This study highlighted that stress levels increase with seasonal fluctuations in workload. Furthermore, this study confirms the literature and identifies that economic worries and seasonal fluctuations in workload are attributed to higher levels of stress amongst farmers.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Health and Safety at Work.
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in Management
Depositing User:	Dan English
Date Deposited:	04 Feb 2021 11:26
Last Modified:	04 Feb 2021 11:26
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4649

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