Job Satisfaction and Mental Distress among Japanese Farmers

Abstract

Objective: Job satisfaction and mental distress may contribute to mental illness, particularly in regard to depression and even suicide. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of job satisfaction and its relationship to the level of mental distress among farmers in comparison to non-farming rural residents.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 7,000 rural residents was performed to assess the level of job satisfaction and mental distress. Mental distress was measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The adjusted odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated by means of multivariate logistic regression models.
Results: A total of 5,364 rural residents (1,888 farmers and 3,476 non-farmers) responded, therefore yielding a response rate of 76.6%. Twenty-five percent of the farmers and 24 percent of non-farmers were either very dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with their jobs. Twenty-five percent of the farmers and 29 percent of non-farmers had mental distress (GHQ score of 4 or above). The crude odds ratio of mental distress among dissatisfied farmers in comparison to satisfied farmers was 4.38 (95% CI = 3.49-5.51). Similarly, the crude odds ratio of mental distress among dissatisfied non-farmers in comparison to satisfied non-farmers was 5.01 (95% CI = 4.19-5.98). These statistically significant odds ratios remained even after controlling for age, gender and family structure. The most important cause of mental distress among farmers was related to family finances. Among non-farmers, however, the most important cause of mental distress tended to be human relations in the workplace.
Conclusion: Although farmers experienced similar levels of job satisfaction and mental distress in comparison to non-farmers, the most important cause of mental distress differed between farmers and non-farmers. As the underlying risks for this level of job satisfaction, family finances are therefore considered to be a potentially hazardous factor in regard to mental distress for farmers.