The importance of our work
The national statistic that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England [1] is often quoted in the context of workplace wellbeing.
But farming and many rural jobs aren’t your typical 9-5.
The office looks very different, there aren’t Wellbeing Champions, and research over the last couple of years is more revealing when it comes to these specific communities:
Please read carefully as there are references to suicide.
94%
of farmers under the age of 40 believe that mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today [2]
3
people in the UK farming and agriculture industry die by suicide every week [3]
3x
The suicide rate for male farm workers is 3 times the male national average [4]
Barriers to reaching out
Men in rural areas are less likely than men in urban areas or women in rural areas to reach out for support or talk to someone if they are struggling with their mental health (43% versus 51% and 60% respectively).
The top 3 barriers stopping these men reaching out for help are:
15%
Not knowing who to turn to
18%
The stigma around mental health
15%
Lack of awareness of support available
[5]
Depression & anxiety in the farming community
43% of women and 33% of men in the farming community (aged 25 - 44) were possibly or probably depressed.
[5]
58% of women and 44% of men were suffering from mild, moderate or severe anxiety.
[5]
19%
of people knew someone who had attempted to take their own life [7]
77%
of vets said they had been concerned about a colleague or fellow student’s mental health and wellbeing [8]
[1] McManus, S., Meltzer, H., Brugha, T. S., Bebbington, P. E., & Jenkins, R. (2009). Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007: results of household survey. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
[2] Yellow Wellies 2023; a survey of 450,000 UK farmers under the age of 40
[3] Office for National Statistics (2021), Public Health Scotland (2021), OpenDataNI (2018)
[4] Office for National Statistics (2015)
[5] Opinium Research, national omnibus survey of 2000 people over 18 across the UK with statistically robust number in rural and urban areas, carried out 17th – 21st January 2022).
[6] & [7] RABI, The Big Farming Survey via Rural Mental Health, p.13
[8] Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rural Mental Health, p.16