A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms
Most criteria for social sustainability of farms rely on the presence of employed labour, so that the social sustainability of family farms is difficult to capture. We therefore propose to focus on workload as one aspect of social sustainability, with a particular angle on its manifestation in famil...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972722000125 |
| _version_ | 1811339272702132224 |
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| author | Christina Umstätter Stefan Mann Jessica Werner |
| author_facet | Christina Umstätter Stefan Mann Jessica Werner |
| author_sort | Christina Umstätter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most criteria for social sustainability of farms rely on the presence of employed labour, so that the social sustainability of family farms is difficult to capture. We therefore propose to focus on workload as one aspect of social sustainability, with a particular angle on its manifestation in family farms. We compared existing labour resources to working time requirements according to the farm's portfolio. Different levels of detail in acquiring the necessary data are presented. Two case studies on samples of Swiss dairy farms indicate that around a third of all farms suffer from potentially being overworked whereas being underworked does not seem to be an issue. It has been indicated that the problem of overwork is more prevalent among lowland farms than in the mountains. The simple indicator proposed was found to be a potentially useful and easy-to-use tool. However, it became clear that added value could be found by including the degree of mechanisation on the farm and the degree of outsourcing of work processes to contractors in the calculation of the indicator. Further, an outlook is given on how to automate the indicator calculations to provide additional benefit. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:23:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cef017eba908436596c5bdf823333a2a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2665-9727 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:23:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-cef017eba908436596c5bdf823333a2a2022-12-22T02:35:19ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272022-06-0114100180A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farmsChristina Umstätter0Stefan Mann1Jessica Werner2Competitiveness and System Evaluation, Agroscope, Ettenhausen, Switzerland; Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei, SwitzerlandCompetitiveness and System Evaluation, Agroscope, Ettenhausen, Switzerland; Corresponding author.Animal Nutrition and Rangeland Management in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, GermanyMost criteria for social sustainability of farms rely on the presence of employed labour, so that the social sustainability of family farms is difficult to capture. We therefore propose to focus on workload as one aspect of social sustainability, with a particular angle on its manifestation in family farms. We compared existing labour resources to working time requirements according to the farm's portfolio. Different levels of detail in acquiring the necessary data are presented. Two case studies on samples of Swiss dairy farms indicate that around a third of all farms suffer from potentially being overworked whereas being underworked does not seem to be an issue. It has been indicated that the problem of overwork is more prevalent among lowland farms than in the mountains. The simple indicator proposed was found to be a potentially useful and easy-to-use tool. However, it became clear that added value could be found by including the degree of mechanisation on the farm and the degree of outsourcing of work processes to contractors in the calculation of the indicator. Further, an outlook is given on how to automate the indicator calculations to provide additional benefit.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972722000125Dairy farmsWorking time requirementsWork element methodModelling |
| spellingShingle | Christina Umstätter Stefan Mann Jessica Werner A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms Environmental and Sustainability Indicators Dairy farms Working time requirements Work element method Modelling |
| title | A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms |
| title_full | A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms |
| title_fullStr | A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms |
| title_full_unstemmed | A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms |
| title_short | A simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms |
| title_sort | simple measure for workload as a social sustainability indicator for family farms |
| topic | Dairy farms Working time requirements Work element method Modelling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972722000125 |
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