The Effects of Fatigue, Role Overload and Stress on

Farmer's Work Safety

Garaika

Management Departement, Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi Trisna Negara, Indonesia

Keywords: Fatigue, Role Overload, Stress, Work Safety.

Abstract: This study aims to examine the effect of fatigue, role overload and stress on the work safety of farmers on the

plantation. Respondents in this study were cassava farmers who worked on Way Kanan Lampung plantations.

The sampling technique used convenience sampling. The number of respondents is 200 people. The data

analysis tool used is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). This research is different from previous studies

that analyzed occupational safety in manufacturing companies, in this study the research settings were farmers

who worked on plantations. The results of the study indicate that the work safety model is acceptable. Fatigue

and role overload have a positive effect on stress, and stress has a positive effect on farmer's work safety.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The agricultural sector in Indonesia plays an

important role, considering that more than 40% of its

workforce depend on this sector. Based on data from

the International Labor Organization (ILO), around

1.3 million people work in agriculture throughout the

world. From these data, 60% of them work in

developing countries (Forastieri, 2001). The passion

for farming, despite all the hassles, requires farmers

to do something right in managing their stress. Stress

that is not recognized and not managed properly can

lead to the risk of accidents faced by farm families

and on agricultural land. When stress levels are high,

farmers tend to make poor agricultural decisions,

resulting in frequent accidents on agricultural land

(Mamady et al., 2014). The agricultural sector is one

of the main priorities of development in Indonesia as

well as the Way Kanan District. The agricultural

sector has a strategic role in efforts to fulfill the basic

needs of the community. Support for the potential of

adequate natural resources causes nearly 80% of the

population of Way Kanan to make a living in

agriculture, plantations, forestry, and fisheries.

Way Kanan Regency has the potential of paddy

field area of ± 21,754 hectares. Haerani (2010) states

that agricultural failure rates in developing countries

are four times greater than in industrialized countries

(Haerani, 2010). Agriculture is one of the most

stressful jobs, but most farmers say they will not

exchange it for other jobs.

Simpson et al., (2004) and Sugandini et al., (2018)

state that stress has a direct relationship with the

potential for injury at work. Walker and Walker

(1987) also found that chronic stress caused

cognitive, social and physical symptoms. For

example, losing patience, back pain, behavior

problems, frequent illness, and marital problems.

Stallones (1996) notes that stress related to health

problems has not been widely discussed in the

agricultural sectorStallones (1996) concludes that

many studies are needed to understand the effect of

stress on health and safety in the agricultural sector.

This study aims to analyze the stress experienced by

farmers with antecedents of fatigue and role overload.

The consequences of the stress of farmers on work

safety were also analyzed in this study.

1.2 Originality/Value

This research has originality / value as follows: (1)

This study examines how the psychological variables

impact on farmer work safety are different from

previous studies. Previous research has looked at

work safety in the manufacturing industry

(Vanishree, 2014 and Bakker, 2017). In fact, many

researchers have tested the effect of fatigue, role

overload and safety stress analyzed from the medical

side (Mohanavelu et al., 2017). (2) This research is

Garaika, .

The Effects of Fatigue, Role Overload and Stress on Farmer’s Work Safety.

DOI: 10.5220/0008427000130017

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Inclusive Business in the Changing World (ICIB 2019), pages 13-17

ISBN: 978-989-758-408-4

based on the theory of organizational behavior and

psychological factors. The psychological factors

analyzed in this study are fatigue, role overload and

stress. Many researchers observe the influence of

these psychological factors individually on safety

farms, but this study analyzes these three factors

together in a model. This research can show that

stress is the biggest factor affecting farm safety. This

study could also show that fatigue can have an impact

on stress, although in other studies it shows the

opposite, that stress has an impact on fatigue

(Bennett, 2016).

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Fatigue and Stress

Most people think that the way of life of a farmer is

generally peaceful, relaxed and healthy. However, in

reality, farmers have high stress and risky lifestyle

(Kearney, Rafferty, Hendricks, Allen & Tutor-

Marcom, 2014). The pace of the agricultural industry,

increasing health and safety regulations, weather that

cannot be predicted due to climate change, causes

farmers to experience increased stress, both physical

and mental (Seanad, 2015).

Stress experienced by farmers can cause negative

consequences, such as mental and physical fatigue,

health problems, decreased job satisfaction,

decreased performance, and serious consequences

related to accidents at work (Bin, 2008). Fatigue is a

serious problem that often occurs in plantation

cultivators (Lilley et al., 2012). Fatigue can occur

unexpectedly and generally takes longer to affect

human performance (Lubeck, 2014). Fatigue arises

from long working hours and a long time to work

without sleep (Flin, O'Connor & Crichton, 2008).

If this condition occurs continuously, it can cause

problems for farmers while doing daily work. There

are two dominant types of human fatigue, namely: (1)

psychological fatigue (subjective) and (2)

physiological (objective) fatigue. Psychological

fatigue (subjective) is fatigue due to constant

cognitive activity, while physiological fatigue

(objective) occurs because of the chemical response

that makes muscles tired. Both types of fatigue can

negatively affect agricultural work performance,

causing errors and accidents while doing farming

activities (Hockey, 2013). So that the first hypothesis

proposed in this study is:

H1: Fatigue has a positive influence on stress

2.2 Role Overload and Stress

Overload role reflects the conditions felt by workers

that their role in the job exceeds their job description

(Jensen, Pankaj, Patel, & Messersmith, 2013). A

person will feel an excess role when job expectations

exceed the available time, resources, or personal

abilities (Jensen et al., 2013). Someone who

experiences role overload will usually have feelings

that deviate from his normal function. This condition

triggers stress in the workplace as a result of obstacles

or demands that arise related to role overload

(Bakker, 2017).

H2: Role overload has a positive effect on stress.

2.3 Stress and Farmer's Work Safety

Work safety is a state of avoiding danger while doing

work. Use of machinery and heavy equipment in

agriculture such as tractors, permanent machines,

planting tools and so on are sources of danger that can

lead to fatal injuries and work accidents (Mamady et

al., 2014). The use of pesticides can also cause serious

poisoning or disease. Dust of animals and plants can

cause allergies and respiratory diseases. Another

factor that triggers work accidents in the agricultural

sector is the limited time available to complete a work

caused by climate constraints, so farmers tend to work

in a hurry without regard to their safety (Haerani,

2010).

Simpson et al., 2004 stated that there was a direct

relationship between farmer stress and agricultural

security. Elkind and Salter (1994) suggest that stress

can also cause farmers to forget about their safety at

work. The findings in the latest meta-analysis show

that there is a statistically significant relationship

between stress and accidents in farming. The majority

of findings imply that stress increases the likelihood

of accidents (Mamady et al., 2014). Thu et al., (1997)

stated that farmers who admit to having a high level

of stress experience three times the possibility of

injury in farming.

H3: Stress has a positive influence on the farmer's

work safety.

3 RESEARCH METHODS

This research is a survey research. Respondents in

this study were cassava farmers who worked on

cassava plantations in Way Kanan Lampung,

Indonesia. This study uses a questionnaire for

ICIB 2019 - The 2nd International Conference on Inclusive Business in the Changing World

collecting data. The questionnaire in this study

amounted to 13 consisting of 4 questions related to

fatigue, three questions related to role overload and

three questions related to stress adopted from Bennett

(2016). Three safety-related questions were adopted

from Nyatuame and Ampiaw (2015). Respondents'

answers refer to a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from

strongly disagree to strongly agree. The population in

this study were all farmers who worked on cassava

plantations. The sampling technique uses non-

random sampling, namely convenience sampling.

The number of respondents is 200. This study uses

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze data.

Direct influence (path coefficient) is observed from

standardized regression weights, with significance

testing using CR (Critical Ratio) value whose

function is equal to t count value. The results of the

AMOS program can be observed causal relationships

between variables by looking at the direct effects and

indirect effects and their total effects. Assessment of

significance is based on the probability value (p); the

significance limit used is the p-value  0.05. Tests for

models developed using various Goodness of Fit

criteria adopted from Hair et al., (1998) namely:

CMIN/DF (the minimum sample discrepancy

function/degree of freedom), probability, RMSEA

(root mean square error of approximation), GFI

(Goodness of fit index), CFI (Comparative fit index),

and TLI (Tucker Lewis Index).

4 RESULT

4.1 The Characteristic of the

Respondent

The characteristics of the respondents in this study

were all men, the average age was 50 years. The last

education of farmers is junior and senior high schools

with the same proportion.

4.2 The Results of Testing Validity and

Reliability

The results of testing Validity and Reliability indicate

that all items in question are valid and reliable. This

is indicated by the results of the confir matory factor

analysis explaining that the four constructs (fatigue,

role overload, stress and work safety) consisting of 13

questions have standardized factor loadings  0.4.

Table 1: Results of testing validity.

Item

Standardize Factor Loading

(SFL)

Fati

ue 1 0.432

Fati

ue 2 0.659

Fati

ue 3 0.783

Fati

ue 4 0.811

Role overload1 0.774

Role overload2 0.901

Role overload3 0.924

Stress 1 0.585

Stress 2 0.770

Stress 3 0.775

Work safet

1 0.850

Work safet

1 0.947

Work safet

1 0.800

Table 2: Results of testing reliability.

Construct

Reliabilit

Variance

Extracte

Fati

ue 0.922 0.862

Role Overloa

0.956 0.930

Stress 0.483 0.679

Safet

0.973 0.973

Reliability is shown by the calculation of

construct reliability above 0.7 and variance extracted

 0.50. Limitation of these values refers to the opinion

of Hair et al. (1998). The results of testing validity

and reliability can be seen in table 1 and 2.

4.3 The Results of the Work Safety

Model Testing using SEM

Test results Structural Equation Modeling about work

safety using AMOS can be seen in Figure 1.

Evaluation of the results of testing the model can be

seen in table 3.

The results of the data analysis presented in Table

3 indicate that the model is acceptable because it has

a good value of Goodness of Fit Indices. Next, to test

the hypothesis of the causal relationship between

fatigue, role overload, stress and work safety is done

by observing the path coefficient. This path

coefficient shows the causal relationship between

these variables. The relationship between variables in

this study is shown in Table 4

The Effects of Fatigue, Role Overload and Stress on Farmer’s Work Safety

Table 3: Results of Evaluation Criteria for Goodness of Fit

Indices.

Criteria Results

Critical

Value*

)

Model

Evaluation

Cmin/DF 4.074

1

Cmin/DF

 5,00

Good

Probability 0.782

0,05

Good

RMSEA 0.824

0,08

Good

GFI 0.942

0,90

Good

TLI 0.941

0,95

Good

CFI 0.976

0,94

Good

Figure 1: Structural Model of Work Safety.

Table 4: Path coefficient (Standardize Regression Weight)

between Variables.

Path Estimate SE C.R. Result

Fatigue 

Stress

0.370 0.097 3.964 Supported

Role

overload

 Stress

0.350 0.070 4.043 Supported

Stress 

Work

Safet

0.630 0.094 7.188 Supported

5 DISCUSSION

The results of this study explain that the structural

model of work safety is acceptable. This can be seen

from the value of the goodness of fit index which

shows good results. Work safety can be explained by

fatigue, role overload, and stress. The results of this

study indicate that there is an effect of fatigue on

stress is 37%. This result can explain that the first

hypothesis proposed in this study is supported. The

results of this study support the findings of the

research conducted by Lilley et al., (2012); Lubeck,

(2014). Lilley, et al., (2012) and Lubeck, (2014) state

that farmers who are constantly fatigued and

accumulated over time will cause stress. If this stress

occurs continuously, it can cause difficulties for

farmers when doing daily activities. Hockey, (2013)

also states that there are two forms of fatigue, namely

psychological fatigue and physical fatigue. The

fatigue that is most often felt by farmers in this

cassava plantation is psychological fatigue.

Psychological fatigue arises because there is a

pressure that the expected results are sometimes not

as predicted.

The effect of role overload on stress is 35% (the

second hypothesis supported). Role overload felt by

farmers causes stress that is felt to increase. Farmers

who feel overloaded with their role as farmers and

other roles in people's lives and their families cause

mental stress in themselves. According to Jensen, et

al., (2013), a person who feels an excess role occurs

when expectations for work exceed the available

time, resources, or personal abilities. Besides that,

farmers whose overload role will usually feel that

opportunities, constraints, or demands related to work

deviate from what they predict (Bakker, 2017).

The effect of stress on safety by 63% (the third

hypothesis supported). This shows that stressed

farmers usually do not care about their safety at work.

The higher the level of stress felt by farmers, the more

likely the farmer will experience a work accident.

This supports the findings of research conducted by

Simpson et al., (2004) and Mamady et al., (2014)

which state that stress causes farmers to forget about

security.

6 CONCLUSIONS

This study only explores work safety models seen

from the internal aspects of farmers only. It is

recommended that the perception of safety be

observed from plantation leaders who employ

farmers on their plantations. The variables observed

in this study also have not discussed the plantation

manager's side and the influence of the farmer's

family factors. According to Kreitner & Kinicki,

(2007) and Bennett, (2016), in addition to the variable

ICIB 2019 - The 2nd International Conference on Inclusive Business in the Changing World

fatigue, stress and role overload, which were

examined in this study, there are several variables that

can be used to predict work safety, namely

managerial behavior, management style, lack of

cohesiveness, workplace violence and family.

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The Effects of Fatigue, Role Overload and Stress on Farmer’s Work Safety