The Pressure of Working as a Teen

After a long day at school, it’s time to get in your car and drive to Starbucks for the afternoon shift. A couple of hours later, it’s finally time to go home, but your day isn’t over yet. It’s time to attack that massive pile of homework, followed by chores, more homework, all to do it again tomorrow. 

A part-time job in high school teaches teens important life skills, such as working with people, solving problems, and learning the value of money. Most individuals in high school work to provide for themselves, save up for their first car, or even towards college. But today, vehicles and higher education cost significantly more. This has resulted in a significantly lower population of teenagers in the workforce. According to CNN, “In 1979, nearly 60% of American teenagers were employed, an all-time high. Today, just over one-third, or 35%, of teens between the ages of 16 and 19 are part of the workforce.” Not only has the economy recently seen a stint of inflation, but high school is becoming much more demanding for many individuals. Since school is back in person, students are still adjusting to the culture of a normal school day. It is difficult to balance life again after a two-year break. Now, many high school students are occupied with rigorous coursework, sports, clubs, and many other extracurricular activities outside of their jobs. More teenagers are required to be in school during their academic year. There is simply not enough time in the day to hold down a job. 

Although many believe that the summer is the period of time where students strive to find summer jobs, recently the summer job experience is disappearing. Teens are pressured to take summer classes, do research opportunities, travel, or do leisure activities when they have free time away from school. A lot of juniors and seniors may even use this extra time to take SAT/ACT prep courses. With tougher high school requirements and greater pressure to go to college, summer classes are the newest summer jobs. The reason for declining teen labor force participation seems to reflect increasing time spent in school during the summer. 

But, sometimes it is just up to the employer whether or not high school students have a job, during school or the summer. Many employers are reluctant to hire many high school students. Older individuals or even low-skill workers are creating competition for many teenagers to earn a job. Whether it is based on skill or age, many employers are hesitant to employ teenagers. Because of a remarkably tough job market, millions of teens may not get the chance to wait tables, sit atop lifeguard towers or mow lawns during the summer. Then there are the common jobs that most teens have at least once in their lifetime: babysitter, dog-walker, tutor. These are often jobs held by teenagers due to the fact that they offer flexible schedules and aren’t tax-paying. 

The low teen employment rate has had an impact on many businesses and services. For example, there has been a high shortage of lifeguards for beaches, community pools, and gyms. A townhouse community in Flemington has to close the neighborhood pool for most of August due to a lack of lifeguards. Ice cream shops, stores, and local small businesses have had to reduce their hours because of low staffing. 

Working part-time can help teenagers feel more independent, confident and develop a sense of responsibility. However, teenagers have to balance this with things that are also very crucial like the difficult work that comes from school and the time commitment of after-school activities. It is important for students to keep a good balance between all this and not pressure themselves.