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The number fourteen is a wonderful number for Floridian teenagers all around the state, as it is the bare minimum age at which children can start working legally. Child labor laws had originally been declared unconstitutional in 1918 before Congress had decided to pass the Fair Labor Act in 1938. Although teens can be hired for a job, getting a job may not be the wisest decision. Some might say that school isn’t much of a factor, but the truth is, that having a job greatly affects a teen’s performance in a school environment.
If a teenager decides to get a job, they will likely be paid based on hourly rates, which incentivizes teens to work more hours. However, this can be problematic, as when teens work at their jobs for longer periods, their school work lessens and becomes worse. A study was done by Herbert W. Marsh and Sabina Kleitman that showed a direct correlation between employed high schoolers working longer hours, and performing significantly worse in school. ASCD wrote an article about the study in question. The study was summarized as, “As students work longer hours, they achieve at lower levels academically…” In this same study, it was also found that students in 12th grade that had jobs were, “...less likely to enroll in—or stay in—college.” If a teenager decides to get a job, they need to prioritize their education.
Getting a job isn’t all bad, as many things that you learn at a job can be transferred into a classroom environment. Renae Hintze, author of Pros and Cons: Should My Teen Work During High School?, writes about teens learning how to be responsible through working, and how that learned responsibility can be used at school. Becoming mature and responsible is important and can certainly get you far in life, even outside of school. Jobs can also help teens develop a good work ethic, which can be used in school to stay on top of assignments and homework. The people at workethic.org state in their article Why Young People need to Have Part-Time Jobs, that working is a great way to, “...establish work ethic from a young age,” and that jobs can, “...help teens set up a foundation for future career success.”
While jobs can bring many positives, they can also bring many negatives, such as a great load of stress. Students who acquire jobs in high school will tend to experience far greater levels of stress than those who don’t have jobs. A study done by the American Psychological Association has shown that different kinds of stress can lead to a variety of health issues. Acute stress can be fatal, and incite fatal incidents like heart attacks. Chronic stress can result in issues relating more to the brain, such as depression. Depression is already a common malefactor in teens, and combined with the added stress of a job, these effects can be amplified and arguably worse than acute stress. Renae Hintze, writer on Student Tutor, says in her article about the pros and cons of working in high school, “With so much stress already placed on high schoolers to succeed in their courses and exams, adding 20 hours a week of dealing with difficult customers and juggling responsibilities could tip things over the edge.” Her claim can especially be applied to students in advanced classes, as their classes are far more difficult than normal classes.
Teenagers all around the world, including myself, have sleep issues and find themselves staying up too late, waking up late, having trouble falling asleep, etc. So with these pre-existing problems, adding a 15-20 hour shift at a job weekly to that lack of sleep will only amplify the already unpleasant effects of sleep deprivation. High school students who work have far more on their plates than students who don’t. With homework, after-school activities, spending time with friends and family, and a job on top of everything, sleep can take a back seat to all else and will stop being a priority. The people at the NCBI, or the National Center for Biotechnology Information, wrote an article about teens and sleep. In the article, one thing they mention is that “...teens who do not get enough sleep are more likely to get depression.” This is especially serious for teens who work as much as they can legally because those effects will be amplified tenfold as they will have even less time to do things outside of work.
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