Work engagement and its related factors for dairy farmers

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the work engagement and its association with work related factors among dairy farmers in Japan.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted for dairy farmers living in two towns located at Hokkaido Prefecture, and 229 responses with full data were analyzed. Work engagement was assessed using the Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for comparisons of the work engagement scores between ages, genders, two types of feeding management (tie-stall/free-stall barn) or numbers of milking cows.

Results: Males reported higher work engagement scores than females, but there were no differences between ages, the types of feeding management or numbers of milking cows. The higher-job control group reported significantly higher work engagement scores than the lower-job control group. More work support network was associated with work engagement. For participants under the age of 50s, the higher-job demand group reported more work engagement.

Discussions: Results suggested that higher job control and support network were beneficial for promoting work engagement for dairy farmers. These findings will be helpful for planning strategies to focus on work engagement in the dairy farming community.