Adolescents in the Workplace: For the Good or Bad?

Adolescents in the Workplace: For the Good or Bad?

By: Kylie Johnson

Admin. (2016, May 31). State Reminds Employers about Working Teenagers. Retrieved from https://www.thunder1320.com/news/state-reminds-employers-about-working-teenagers/.

Do you remember your first job? I know I do. I had just turned 16 years old and was ready to take on the workforce and make tons of money! Of course, this was not the case. I did not realize when having a job that required me to stand on my feet for 8-9 hours a day would be so physically draining. I remember thinking after my shifts I would be able to go hang out with friends, go to the movies, and go shopping at the mall. Instead, after working my shifts I would come home drained and go straight to bed just to wake up and do it all over again. The reality hit me at a young age that having a job is not as easy as many teenagers anticipate it to be. I did not know that for every paycheck I received that I’d have government taxes and lose money. Along with experiencing the negative realities of the workplace, I also experienced the benefits.

Whether you’re a parent and want to look out for your adolescent wanting to join the workforce or you are an adolescent looking to start your first job, you need to be aware of the many pros and cons of an adolescent in the workplace.

When it comes to adolescents in the workplace, there are many positives. According to Mortimer (2010), youth themselves think that employment helps them to develop a wide range of beneficial attributes, such as the capacity to take responsibility, develop time-management skills, overcome shyness with adults, and handle money. Furthermore, at least while they are in the work setting, employment makes them feel more like an adult. I can personally vouch for

Mortimer and these claims. When I worked my first job, I had the capacity to take responsibility. I was responsible for when I arrived at work, and if I made mistakes at work. I had to learn to develop time-management with my second job because I was doing two varsity sports and school at the same time (my first job was in the summer so my time was dedicated to working no extracurricular activities at the time). I developed such skills as multi-tasking, problem-solving, and stronger communication skills as well as better handling money. So yes, an adolescent in the workplace takes on responsibilities, develops skills, learns the true value of money, and gains work experience. But along with the positives of an adolescent in the workplace, there are still many negatives.  

One major con of adolescents in the workplace is illegal child labor. The first job I worked illegally. My manager knew I was underage and went against child labor laws. For example, my manager had me working on the open shifts. I was arriving at work at 4:30 am in the morning. Washington Child Labor Laws (2019) states, Work is prohibited during these hours: 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1st to Labor Day) to 7 a.m. I am from Washington state, and under Washington law, I was not allowed to work before 7 am, yet I was arriving to work at 4:30 am. Of course, as a minor, I was not aware of what was illegal child labor or not. I was just excited to have a job. As well as working illegal hours, my manager signed the back of my checks with my signature. Nobody is authorized to forge any signature; therefore, it was another flag of illegal activity in my workplace. Fortunately, not all adolescents experience illegal child labor. If an adolescent does not experience illegal work, they can still have other cons such as falling being with schoolwork, having grades drop, not getting enough sleep and developing anxiety. Overall, many adolescents in the workplace will really need to develop good time management or their focus on school and other high priorities could be affected.

I am sure like myself, many adults, parents looking out for their adolescent, or working adolescents could go into far detail about working at a young age and the pros and cons of it. Working at a young age has so many benefits as I had discussed earlier. Building social skills, real-life skills, valuing money, and building forms of independence is very important. Along with that adolescents need to be aware of the negatives in the workplace. Not all, but many workplaces are aware of adolescents’ obliviousness to child labor laws. My first job had violated many child labor laws, which thankfully I had eventually left. It is important that as you are looking into a job for yourself or your child you search your states/country’s labor laws to avoid gruesome hours, tasks, and experiences. After my first job I was fortunate to find an amazing second job, was beyond happy, was respected, working legal hours, and was building my skills. It is important to also evaluate an adolescent’s academics and biological need such as sleep may be put at stake if there is too much for them to prioritize.

References

Mortimer, J. T. (2010, January 1). The Benefits and Risks of Adolescent Employment. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2936460/.

Washington Child Labor Laws 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.minimumwage.org/washington/child–labor–laws#working_hours.