Effects of Part-Time Jobs on the Mental Health of Female Students

Introduction 

College and high school students are increasingly taking up part-time jobs and this has influenced their well-being. One of the most commonly associated effects of working while studying is a deterioration of academic performance. Studies have shown that students who have part-time jobs have a hard time keeping up with their grades (Carney et al., 2005). However, the problems associated with working while studying go beyond academic performance. Students who work have reported negative changes in both their physical and mental health (Carney et al., 2005). This study aims to determine the effects of part-time jobs on the mental health of full time female students. 

The number of students with part-time jobs has seen an increase over the years. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of traditional colleges students (16 to 24-year-olds) who worked while studying full time in 1970 was around 34 percent (Perna, 2010). In 2005, this percentage increased to 48 percent. These percentages have seen an increase in more recent times. Data from the American Community Survey in 2011 indicated that 72 percent of college undergraduates were employed (Vaughn et al., 2015). This data shows that the number of college students with part-time jobs is increasing. Working time for these students is also a factor of consideration. 

Most of working colleges students work longer hours per week than recommended. The data from National Center for Education Statistics shows that the number of college students working fewer than 20 hours has seen a decrease from close to 20 percent in 1970 to around 18 percent in 2005 (Perna, 2010). However, the number of college students working 20 to 34 hours and 35 hours or more has increased. In 1970, the number of students working 20 to 34 hours was 11 percent but in 2005, the number increased to 21 percent. On the other hand, the number of students working more than 35 hours increased from 4 percent in 1970 to 9 percent in 2005. The recommended working time for college students is 10 to 15 hours (Perna, 2010). 

Working time has been shown to influence academic performance. Previous studies have shown that the academic performance among students who work over 20 hours per week is lower than those who do not work at all (Vaughn et al., 2015). These students also participate less in school activities leaving them detached from their peers. This lack of involvement in school activities and social relationships means that the only connection these students have is at their place of work (Vaughn et al., 2015). In this paper, the reasons behind the search for part-time jobs, how they affect the mental health of female students and recommendations to addressing the issue will be discussed. 

Reasons Why Students Continually Seek Part-time Jobs 

There are several reasons brought forward by college students for seeking part-time employment and most are financial. The top reason for working while studying is to pay for college tuition. According to a study conducted by Carney et al. (2005), financial hardship was the number reason for seeking part-time jobs. College tuition has become expensive over the years and most students have no option but to seek part-time jobs to alleviate this burden for their parents. Students also work part-time to earn extra money to facilitate extracurricular activities such as going out (Carney et al., 2005). Other reasons include work experience, social interactions, additional curriculum vitae (CV) credentials and relevance to a future career. 

Nature of Part-time Work Among Students 

Most students working part-time jobs are not professional. College students who work often do not have the right credentials and therefore cannot seek professional employment. These students have no option but to seek physically demanding jobs. According to a study conducted by Carney et al. (2005), most students work in retail outlets. The total percentage of students working in retail outlets is 50 percent while those working in food and drink are 39 percent (Carney et al., 2005). The rest work in universities, healthcare and call centers and account for 11 percent. Physically demanding work means these students are exhausted at the end of their shifts. This exhaustion is also a consequence of working part-time jobs. 

Consequences of Working While Studying 

The consequences involved with working while studying can be both positive and negative. A study conducted by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine in 1998 found that for high school students to benefit from working while studying they had to limit the number of working hours to balance school and work (Holloway, 2001­). Students who did this had better time-management skills when they got part-time jobs while in colleges. However, there are negative effects associated with working for high school students. Most high school students who worked had increased incidences of absenteeism based on their working hours. Academic performance was also lower depending on those who worked longer hours. 

The impact of working on college students can also be positive and negative. For the most part, colleges students benefit from the financial rewards they get from working. This extra cash gives them access to better nutrition. These students are also able to develop better communication skills (Kwadzo, 2014). The negative effects associated with working range include stress (physical and emotional) due to physically demanding responsibilities, conflicts associated with multiple social roles and workplace-related issues (Kwadzo, 2014). The benefits associated with part-time jobs are far outweighed by the negative outcomes. These negative outcomes inadvertently lead to mental health issues. 

Mental Health Status Among Students 

There has been an increase in mental health problems among students over the years. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, most (75 percent) mental health conditions afflict people before they are 24 years of age (James, 2017). These statistics show why a good mental health status is integral for college students. A study conducted by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health found that 26 percent of students in 139 institutions had performed acts of self-harm on themselves (James, 2017). Those who had considered suicide accounted for 33.2 percent. Another study conducted among freshmen in University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) revealed that 12 percent of these students had experienced depression frequently. 

Part-time Jobs Association with Students’ Mental Health Status 

Mental health status is in most cases influenced by social relationships. Social relationships have been linked with positive outcomes in both physical and mental health. Some of these positive outcomes include a reduction in symptoms related with mood disorders and better cardiovascular health (Vaughn et al., 2015). Social relationships can either enhance stress effects or buffer one against them depending on the quantity and quality. As stated before, working college students have fewer social interactions in school than they do at their workplace. Therefore, one can conclude that their workplace relationships influence their health. This paper aims to determine the association of part-time jobs with students’ mental health status based on this conclusion. 

In a study conducted by Vaughn et al. (2015), workplace relationships had a significant influence on the mental health status of students. Vaughn et al.’s study hypothesized that positive and negative relationships had independent effects on the mental health of college students. The study had 170 participants of which 76 percent were female with aged 19 to 20 years old (Vaughn et al., 2015). The method used for collection of data was through an online survey about their mental health based on somatic stress symptoms, anxiety, life satisfaction and depression. The mental health status was measured against the quality of workplace relationships whether supportive or aversive (Vaughn et al., 2015). Supportive workplace relationships had a positive impact on workplace mental health while the reverse was true for aversive relationships. 

A higher number of supportive relationships at the workplace resulted in good mental health. The college students who had supportive relationships at their workplace had few cases of somatic stress symptoms such as stomachaches and palpitations (Vaughn et al., 2015). These students also had low anxiety and depression and were highly satisfied with their lives. On the other hand, colleges students who reported aversive relationships at their workplace had poor mental health. These students reported high cases of depression and anxiety. The results of these studies show a distinct relationship between workplace relationships and the mental health status of students. Supportive workplaces present college students with better mental health as compared to aversive workplaces. 

Having a job while studying means that colleges students have dual social roles, and this has been shown to have effects on their mental health. Mona Fluehr conducted a study whose aim was to determine the effects multiple social roles have on the mental health of college student’s and their perception of stress. The study was based on two theories – role stress theory and role expansion theory (Fluehr, n.d.) Role stress theory suggests that having multiple social roles has negative outcomes on an individual’s well-being. On the other hand, the role expansion theory suggests that having multiple social roles has positive consequences on one’s well-being (Fluehr, n.d.). The study used a total of 210 students and method of data collection used was questionnaires. 

According to Fluehr’s study, the mental health of male students is not affected at the same rate as that of female students by multiple social roles. The results obtained by Fluehr showed that women had poorer mental health than men. The perception of stress levels among was also higher than among women (Fluehr, n.d.). These differences were attributed to the multiple roles that women have in society. According to the study, the role of taking care of family members was left to women. The rate of having children was also found to be higher among women than men. The likelihood of having part-time employment was also higher in women than in men (Fluehr, n.d.). Working female college students are at a higher risk of poor mental health compared to male college students. 

Conclusions and Recommendations 

Mental health among working female students is more likely to be poorer than that of male students. Unlike men, women have multiple roles in the society. They are caregivers to the family and when they bear children they become mothers. These roles combined with a part-time job and full-time studying are responsible for both their physical and emotional stress. Thus, female students are likely to have higher stress levels, experience more cases of somatic stress symptoms and be more afflicted by depression and anxiety. Workplace relationships play a huge role in the mental health of all colleges students. If these relationships are more aversive than supportive then mental health problems among students are likely to continue increasing. Therefore, there is a need for various stakeholders to step in and alleviate this problem. 

There have been several recommendations brought forward to help support working students. All previous suggestions were based on the creation of flexible timetables for students. One such approach was the “policy reconstruction” (McGregor, n.d.). This approach advocated for the creation of a timetable which had only two days allocated per week for studies. This approach had disadvantages that could not be ignored. Using this approach would limit syllabus coverage to only two days per week while at the same time being tedious for students. Ian McGregor conducted a study on what could be done to minimize the effects of part-time jobs on college students’ studies. 

Academic support is the solution advocated for in Ian McGregor’s study. The study used 115 participants to determine what academic support working colleges students preferred. In the study, 58 percent of the participants selected pre-recorded lectures as a possible solution in a list of options (McGregor, n.d.). They also suggested other academic support strategies such as live broadcast lectures (48 percent) and email support (43 percent) (McGregor, n.d.). Other suggested options for academic support included drop-in sessions at the lecturers’ offices (37 percent) and audio recordings (35 percent). However, mental health problems cannot be alleviated by academic support. 

When it comes to handling mental health problems among female students the only approach is to seek counseling services. College students can recognize mental health conditions, but most are afraid to seek help. Parents should let their children know that these conditions are common as 1 in every 5 college students is afflicted (James, 2017). Parents should also advise their children on the benefits of sleeping and exercising. Parents and college students alike should be taught to recognize warning signs and when, where and how they can seek help (James, 2017). These recommendations will go a long way towards ensuring both female and male students do not develop mental health conditions. 

The appropriate counseling strategies will also go a long way in helping college students who already suffer from mental health conditions. Counselors could first determine the workplace relationships that these students work under (Vaughn et al., 2015). Using this information, they could come up with strategies on interpersonal coping. These strategies will go a long way in establishing positive relationships at the workplace. In case the students already have positive relationships at their workplaces counselors could encourage them to invest more in them to eliminate loneliness. This strategy ensures they still have social ties even if it is not at school. 

Universities could also come up with formal work-study programs. The universities could integrate counseling within these programs (Vaughn et al., 2015). Counseling working students in groups is the best approach as it is cost-effective for the universities. The counseling could also be extended to the teaching staff who could be taught the importance of supporting and understanding working college students. This approach ensures the creation of a positive environment for the students at school. The student would then benefit from the mental health benefits that come with having positive social relationships. The students would not only thrive mentally but also physically and academically (Vaughn et al., 2015). 

Mental health is important for all college students – male or female. If the increasing cases are to be addressed, then the recommendations discussed in this section should be put into action immediately. Support from families, friends, colleagues and the university staff will go a long way in ensuring working college students have social relationships that bring them more positive outcomes than negative. The mental health status of students would then see a remarkable change for the better with time. Female students who are the most affected would also benefit considerably as they will not have to deal with increased stress levels and poor mental health. 

Annotated Bibliography 

Carney, C., McNeish, S. & McColl, J. (2005). The impact of part time employment on students’ health and academic performance: a Scottish perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education , 29(4), 307-319. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c70c/6280cacc78b87e55e0ef1a2f8c58dbf7a92f.pdf. 

Claire Carney and her colleagues discuss the effects of part-time employment on Scottish students’ health and academic performance. 

Fluehr, M. (n.d.). The Effects of Multiple Social Roles on College Students’ Mental Health and Perception of Stress. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://esource.dbs.ie/bitstream/handle/10788/1223/poster_fluehr_m_2013.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. 

Holloway, J. H. (2001). Part-Time Work and Student Achievement. Educational Leadership , 58(7), 83-84. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/apr01/vol58/num07/_Part-Time_Work_and_Student_Achievement.aspx. 

In this article, Kwadzo discusses the experience international students have working and studying at an unnamed northeastern public university. 

In this article, the rise of mental health problems among college students in the United States is discussed. 

In this article, Vaughn and her counterparts discuss the effects of workplace relationships on the mental health of working college students. 

In this paper, Mona Fluehr discusses the effects multiple roles in the society have on the mental health of college students. 

James, S. D. (2017, June 28). Mental Health Problems Rising Among College Students. NBC News . Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/mental-health-problems-rising-among-college-students-n777286. 

John H. Holloway a Project Director, Educational Testing Service discusses the effects of part-time work on students’ achievement. 

Kwadzo, M. (2014). International Students’ Experience of Studying and Working at a Northeastern Public University in the US. Journal of International Students , 4(3), 279-291. Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1054990.pdf. 

Laura W. Perna a professor of higher education at the University of Pennsylvania discusses how university faculty members can better understand their working students. 

McGregor, I. (n.d.). How does Term-time Paid Work Affect Higher Education Students’ Studies, and What can be Done to Minimise any Negative Effects? Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://jpaap.napier.ac.uk/index.php/JPAAP/article/view/127/181 

Perna, L. W. (2010). Understanding the Working College Student. American Association of University Professors . Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.aaup.org/article/understanding-working-college-student. 

Vaughn, A., Drake R. R., & Haydock, S. (2015). College Student Mental Health and Quality of Workplace Relationships. Journal of American College Health . Retrieved 20 April 2018, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Allison_Vaughn/publication/279862980_College_Student_Mental_Health_and_Quality_of_Workplace_Relationships/links/55bfc4e708ae9289a09b61ac/College-Student-Mental-Health-and-Quality-of-Workplace-Relationships.pdf?origin=publication_detail.