Time is a Precious Commodity: Reframing Farmer Stress and Mental Health Through the Lens of Time Poverty

In this conceptual paper we apply the construct of <em>time poverty</em> to a novel population, farmers struggling with stress and mental health challenges. Farmers have rates of suicide that can be over three times that of the general population, with depression and anxiety at double general population rates. These are linked to the multiple stressors farmers experience due to the unpredictable nature of their work, such as weather, input costs, commodity prices, and government regulations. In addition, there are multiple barriers to farmers seeking mental health care. Farming culture places high value on stoicism and independence and rural areas experience deficits in health and mental health care providers. Farming requires long hours and continual work. In addition, work typically takes place where the farmer lives—the family farm—thus precluding the protective separation of “work” and “home” seen in most other occupations. All this result in farmers often reporting that they have no time or time flexibility for healthy stress-reducing leisure activities or rest. Despite these stressors and lack of time, a specific focus on time as an important variable in farmer mental health is lacking in the literature. Without attending to the issue of time, efforts to promote stress management, mental health, and suicide prevention interventions may be less effective and will disrespect and deny the lived reality of farmers. We therefore suggest <em>time poverty</em>, defined as not having enough time to do the things one needs to do in order to tend to health, well-being, and life satisfaction, as a promising new concept when exploring and addressing farmer stress. In this conceptual article we discuss the time poverty literature, apply the concept to farmer stress, and discuss potential applications for research and intervention.