Adolescents in the Workplace: For the Good or Bad?
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 J