Ownership Changes Through the Eyes of Workers on Large Farms

Abstract

The paper offers an assessment of ownership changes on a large farm from the point of view of the employees. Such farms, some of them operating as companies, are important workplaces for the rural population today. The paper presents the results of a qualitative research (ten free-form interviews) involving people who managed such a farm located in this case in the village of Pągów (Opolskie province, Namysłów county), as well as the farm’s employees. The aim of the study was: 1) to reconstruct the employees’ work biographies, 2) to evaluate the extent to which they were active participants of the changes or objects of those changes when ownership transformations were carried out without their knowledge, despite affecting them directly, 3) to determine what impact the ownership changes had on the employees’ work situation and how they were treated by the owners and managerial staff.