Burnout among female farmers and farm workers in Germany - Results of an online cross-sectional survey
Open accessAbstract
The mental health of farmers has been receiving increasing attention in recent years. While studies are available in many European and non-European countries, there is a lack of corresponding data in Germany. This study therefore examines the prevalence of burnout among women on farms in Germany and the relationship to various, partly gender-specific, risk factors. The study uses data of an online survey of 7345 women that was conducted in 2021. The risk of burnout was measured using the “Personal Burnout Scale” of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The results show that 21.5% of women on farms in Germany represented in this sample suffer from burnout, with non-family employees without management functions showing a particularly high burnout rate of 27%. The strongest associations with the CBI Burnout Score were observed for self-rated general health status, stress related to household and farm work, lack of free time, and family and generational conflicts. However, the comparability of the present results with previous studies is unclear due to the potential influence of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of data collection. It cannot be ruled out that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as isolation, fear of illness, and financial uncertainty, may have biased the data. Nevertheless, the study is the first Germany-wide survey of the prevalence of burnout among women in agriculture, and therefore offers initial important insights into a previously under-researched topic.
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- Authors
- Niens, C., Padel, S., & Davier, Z. V.
- Affiliations
- Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Niens, Christine
- Venue
- Journal of Rural Studies
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2026-09
- Volume
- 127
- Pages
- 104360
- ISSN
- 0743-0167 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W7204524233
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 22
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Rural Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- OpenAgrar (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food
- Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Agriculture and Farm Safety
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
- Keywords
- burnout, women in agriculture, women farmers, farm workers, gender differences, mental health, risk factors, household stress, family conflict, intergenerational conflict, leisure, self-rated health, COVID-19 pandemic, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Germany
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