Parlor Profiles: Dairy Families Talk About Their Lives

Managing Hired Help

Employees Create Stress

Whether it’s work, school, finances, household chores, or relationships, modern life can mean a lot of stress for anyone and any family. Dairy farming adds another stress—managing employees. Ten families in the study listed dealing with hired labor as a significant cause of stress.

One husband described dealing with his employees this way: “I could write a book on hired help. Of all the things I do, the hired help is what bothers me the most. Some of them are a nightmare.” Wives echoed their husbands. “It’s always stressful for me having hired help around here,” one woman said.

But many dairy farms need hired labor to accomplish work that must be done every day. And with so many farmers so engrossed in their business that it becomes their identity, hired help is essential if farmers want to spend any time with their families and away from the farm.

Problems with Hired Help

Families mentioned the following problems with hired labor:

  • Unreliability
  • Lack of cow husbandry skills
  • Failure to do chores in a satisfactory manner
  • Alcohol problems

One woman summarized the situation this way: “We have the biggest need for a milking service in this county you have ever seen—we need qualified people.”

In addition to the stress employees caused once they were hired, families said the process of hiring, training, and maintaining labor on dairy farms created additional anxiety.

Part of the problem families have with employees may come from overemphasizing the negative. Rather than talk about the few rewards for employees, such as low pay and lack of fringe benefits, families tended to focus their discussions on employee shortcomings.

Strategies to Strengthen Families

  • Develop a job description(s) for hired help. It saves time in the long run and decreases misunderstandings.

  • Develop a job performance manual that describes the hiring process, the training that needs to take place, job standards, and how job performance will be evaluated.

  • Go out of your way to thank and reward your reliable employees so they stay longer. A lower turnover rate means less time training and hiring staff; and less stress.

  • Regular farm business meetings are important. Use them to keep everyone informed and give employees the chance to talk about their concerns.

  • Encourage employees to work independently so they won’t rely on you for direction for every task. Provide enough instruction to do the job so you aren’t interrupted regularly.

  • Check references and screen applicants carefully to hire the best possible employees. It’s a step that many think is “extra,” but it prevents a lot of problems.

  • Take advantage of University of Minnesota Extension Service publications on managing employees.

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Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

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