Farm and off-farm work and life satisfaction among Norwegian farm women

Previous research has showed that farmers and spouses having off-farm work report higher life satisfaction than those who work only on the farm. Using both quantitative and qualitative data we test this correlation and ask whether there are other factors than just the off-farm work which might explain this. Data from a national survey, involving 935 farm women, and in-depth interviews with twenty-five farm women, are used to explore the relation between work situation and life satisfaction. The analysis shows that farm women's work situations are diverse and might vary during different life phases. Although women having an off-farm job express higher satisfaction with their lives than those who work mainly on-farm, the correlation between work situation and life quality is complex. The analysis indicates that farm women's health status influences both their work situation and their life satisfaction. This implies that it is not only the work situation per se which influences life satisfaction, but rather conditions affecting women's opportunities to make free choices regarding their work situation.