The key indicators of stockpersonship and their relationship with independent behavioural observations and supervisor assessments of stockpeople

Stockpeople are a vital component of animal production systems (English et al. 1992) but despite this recognised importance in regard to animal welfare, very few animal welfare audits assess stockpersonship. The aims of this study were to identify the key indicators of stockpersonship, establish the validity of these measures by correlating them with stockperson behaviour and supervisor assessments of the stockperson and to establish the reliability of these measures using (i) Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to establish internal consistency and (ii) test-retest correlations to establish the repeatability of these measures.

Stockperson self-report and supervisor questionnaires were developed. Questionnaire development was based on focus group information and relevant literature. Following data collection, the questionnaires were refined using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify the underlying commonalities of the questions. This process produced twelve separate stockperson subscales: recognition and relationships; job enjoyment; responsibility and independence; positive interaction beliefs; physical effort beliefs; husbandry beliefs; negative attitudes towards pigs; positive attitudes towards pigs; empathy (attribution); empathy (affect); citizenship; and knowledge. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.69 to 0.90, indicating moderate to strong reliability, for the stockperson subscales. Principal Component Analysis produced four separate supervisor subscales: reliable; proactive; committed; and conscientious. Supervisor subscales obtained Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.71 to 0.95.

The behavioural observation protocol was created using expert opinion, focus group information and literature. Fifteen piggeries across Australia were involved in the study. A total of 117 stockperson questionnaires, 138 supervisor surveys and 132 behavioural observations were completed. This resulted in 79 complete datasets with corresponding stockperson questionnaires, supervisor reports and behavioural observations completed. A number of the stockperson subscales significantly correlated with supervisor assessments or with behavioural observations. Mild or positive behaviours positively correlated with empathy (affect) (r = 0.29, P < 0.01), empathy (attribution) (r = 0.24, P < 0.05) and positive attitudes towards pigs (r = 0.25, P < 0.05). These findings indicated that the greater the stockpersons’ empathy and positive attitude towards pigs, the greater the frequency of mild or positive behaviours. Negative behaviours were negatively correlated with citizenship (r = –0.26, P < 0.05), empathy (affect) (r = –0.28, P < 0.01) and husbandry beliefs (r = –0.25, P < 0.05). This suggested that as citizenship (or allegiance to the company), empathy and husbandry beliefs scores decreased, the frequency of negative behaviours increased. Negative stockperson behaviours were positively correlated with negative attitudes towards pigs (r = 0.24, P < 0.05) indicating that stockpeople with negative attitudes towards pigs were more likely to engage in negative interactions during animal handling. Knowledge was related to several other stockperson subscales including citizenship (r = 0.30, P < 0.01), empathy (attribution) (r = 0.36, P < 0.01), positive attitudes towards pigs (r = 0.28, P < 0.01), positive interaction beliefs (r = 0.22, P < 0.05) and responsibility and independence (r = 0.24, P < 0.05). These results suggested that knowledge about pig health and welfare was related to citizenship, empathy, positive beliefs and attitudes towards pigs and handling pigs as well as being responsible and independent at work.

The supervisor subscale, proactive correlated positively with citizenship (r = 0.21, P < 0.05) and negatively with negative attitudes towards pigs (r = –0.20, P < 0.05) indicating that stockpeople assessed as proactive by their supervisor were more likely to have higher levels of citizenship and were less likely to hold negative attitudes towards pigs. The conscientious subscale was positively correlated with empathy (attribution) (r = 0.22, P < 0.05), suggesting that stockpeople assessed as conscientious by their supervisor were more likely to have higher levels of empathy attribution.

The test-retest correlations for the questionnaire data were all significant, ranging from r = 0.35 to r = 0.78. These results provided evidence for validity and reliability of the questionnaire as a measurement tool for monitoring stockpeople and the attributes of stockpersonship.