The Side Effects of Adolescent Work
The Side Effects of Adolescent Work
By: Curtis Meyer
An adolescent can have many varying experiences in the workplace with after school jobs, and many of these experiences may vary depending on a multitude of different variables. These variables can range from type of work to coworker relationships as well as types of management. Ideally, an adolescent’s first work experience would be in a pleasant and positive environment that’s not too complicated, with management that keeps them in place while letting them have some fun, and coworkers that they get along with, both in their age group and outside of it. Some examples of this are after school jobs in the fields of retail work, the food industry, landscaping, among other similar entry level occupations.
In reality, many of the places that adolescents experience working at don’t quite turn out this positive. Often times the cons to these jobs seem to outweigh the pros, such as not having enough time to study, missing out on social events, and not being able to participate in clubs and sports. Because of this, the work environment often times turns out to be a little less positive than anticipated. There are some risks to face as well. For example, adolescents have the chance of working with older adolescents than them as well as adolescents that are involved with risk behaviors, and since they have extra spending money, they are sometimes likely to be introduced to drugs and begin to abuse substances. This is a harsh contrast to the pros of entering the work force, but it is unfortunately something that can happen, but it does not mean that there aren’t positives to working as an adolescent though, and sometimes experiences can be much more positively balanced.
As an adolescent, I got a job in the fast food industry in high school and had an experience that although there were some positive outcomes, it had some major drawbacks to it. The pros were that I got work experience and felt a great deal of maturity from it, I was more occupied with my time, and I was able to save up money. I was also able to make new friendships with people who I never would have known had I not gone out and gotten a job, which was very enjoyable for me. Another situation that I found myself in was that I was put in a room with a group of people who I likely never would have chosen to socialize with by choice and had to spend a good deal of my time with them, which caused me to create relationships with them, and in turn grew me as a person. I found myself growing socially and being able to communicate better with a wider variety of people through my work experience, which was a major pro to add to the list. In contrast, my manager was a complete moron and an extremely rude and negative person. I had to obey to him although I despised him, and this made work undesirable. In addition, it made me very stressed about my school work and I was unable to go out with friends more often than not. There is a fine line between work and educational balance and constant stress induced by schedule chaos, but if an adolescent is able to find this balance, it can by all means be an experience that grows confidence levels and expands horizons.
Research on adolescents who both work and who don’t have jobs was conducted by Greenberg & Steinberg (1981) to determine the effects working has on adolescents’ physical and mental health. Their studies found that those who have jobs reported less somatic symptoms, meaning less pain, headaches, weakness, and digestive problems, as well as fewer psychological symptoms, but also reported generally higher stress and increased substance use. The examination of these students provided quality insight into the scientific evidence of what many people feel during their work experience as an adolescent.
There are many pros and cons to being a member of the work force as an adolescent, and much of it is dependent on the work environment that you are thrown into, which much of the time, is a luck of the draw type of situation. My advice for adolescents who are thinking about getting a job is to make sure they understand that it is a big responsibility and takes a lot of time away from their life, although it will teach them a great deal about maturity. Additionally, as it is not very hard to get a minimum wage job in high school, it might be a good idea to not take the first job you are offered if the environment and people don’t feel like a great fit for you.
Works Cited:
Greenberger, E., & Steinberg, L. D. (1981). Adolescents who work: Health and behavioral consequences of job stress. Developmental Psychology, 17(6), 691–703.