January 29, 2001

Problems Seen for Teenagers Who Hold Jobs

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

ome weekdays, Alicia Gunther, 17, works past midnight as a waitress at a New Jersey mall, and she readily admits that her work often hurts her grades and causes her to sleep through first period.

Jason Ferry, a high school junior, loves working 30 hours a week as a cashier at a Connecticut supermarket, but he acknowledges that when he gets home from work at 9:30 p.m. he usually does not have enough time to study for big tests.

For decades, the conventional wisdom has been that it is great for teenagers like these to hold after- school jobs because they teach responsibility, provide pocket money and keep the teenagers out of trouble.

But in a nation where more than five million teenagers under 18 work, a growing body of research is challenging the conventional wisdom and concluding that working long hours often undermines teenagers' education and overall development.

In the most important study, two arms of the National Academy of Sciences — the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine — found that when teenagers work more than 20 hours a week, the work often leads to lower grades, higher alcohol use and too little time with their parents and families.

Influenced by such studies, lawmakers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Alabama and other states have pushed in recent years to tighten laws regulating how many hours teenagers can work and how late they can work. In Massachusetts, several lawmakers are seeking to limit the maximum amount of time 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds can work during school weeks to 30 hours, down from the current maximum of 48 hours.

In 1998, Connecticut lawmakers reduced the maximum number of hours 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds can work during school weeks to 32 hours, down from 48, and last year they debated imposing fines on employers who violate those limits. In New York, students that age are allowed to work up to 28 hours during school weeks, while in New Jersey the maximum is 40 hours.

The impetus to tighten restrictions grows largely out of concerns about education, especially fears that American students are falling short on tougher standards and are lagging behind foreign students in comparative tests. While there are myriad reasons for poor school performance, legislators seeking tougher restrictions say American students would certainly do better if they placed more emphasis on work inside school and less emphasis on working outside school.

"We have 16- and 17-year-olds working 40 hours a week on top of 30 hours in the classroom," said Peter J. Larkin, the Massachusetts state representative sponsoring the bill to reduce the number of hours teenagers can work. "Something has to give, and academics seems to be taking a back seat. Sure there is pressure against the bill from employers who need teenage workers to help in a full-employment economy, but many other employers are complaining that the graduates of our high schools are not up to par."

With the national jobless rate at 4 percent, near its lowest point in three decades, many employers are eager to hire teenagers and say it would be bad for the economy and for their businesses to limit the number of hours teenagers can work.

In many states, those pushing for tougher restrictions include pediatricians' groups, P.T.A.'s, women's clubs, teachers' unions and the National Consumer League. Those opposing tighter restrictions usually include business groups and the many parents who see benefits in teenagers' working, and who have warm memories of their own first jobs as soda jerks or supermarket clerks.

Studies by the National Research Council and professors at Stanford University, Temple University and the University of Minnesota found negative effects when 16- and 17- year-olds work more than 20 hours a week. These studies concluded that students who work long hours often do not have enough time or energy for homework and miss out on social and intellectual development gained from participating in school clubs and athletic teams.

Several studies also found that 16- year-olds and 17-year-olds who work long hours tend to use alcohol more than others in their age group, largely because they have extra pocket money and copy older co-workers.

"It's probably safe for kids to work 10 hours or less each week when they're in school, but probably not such a good idea for them to work more than 20 hours," said Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University. "That's when we and other researchers find decreased academic performance and decreased engagement in school."

But many child development experts, teachers and parents said working a modest amount could be valuable for teenagers, teaching responsibility and how to work with others, as well as contributing money to financially strapped households.

"It's a positive thing," said Ted Simonelli, a guidance counselor at Linden High School in New Jersey. "They're learning to be on time, they're learning to be good employees, they're learning a skill that they can trade on when they graduate. Many of the students in the top half of our class work after school."

For teenagers in poor city neighborhoods, several studies have found, a job can be especially beneficial because it fosters discipline and provides needed role models.

Supporters of teenage work point to success stories like Josh Hershey, 16, of West Hartford, Conn., who took a job at an after-school child care center because it would help prepare him for the career to which he aspires: teaching. His job helped his schoolwork, he said, because it forced him to procrastinate less and focus more when doing homework.

"There are a lot of benefits to students' working in moderation," said Jeylan T. Mortimer, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. "But most sociologists and psychologists would say that it's an excessive load for full- time students to work 25 or 30 hours a week if you think it's important for young people to participate in extracurricular activities, develop friendships and spend time with their families."

A newly released study by the Department of Labor shows that 58 percent of American 16-year-olds hold jobs sometime during the school year, not including informal work like baby-sitting, while another study shows that one-third of high-school juniors work 20 or more hours each week. The Department of Labor also found that slightly more than two- fifths of 15-year-olds work, as do one in five 14-year-olds.

Several economists said the percentage of teenagers who work has remained at the same level in recent years. Although the statistics are sketchy, these experts said they believed that the number of hours students work has increased, partly because of the tight labor market.

A new study by the International Labor Organization showed that American teenagers work far more than teenagers in most other countries. The study found that 53 percent of American teenagers, from the ages of 16 to 19, work in any given week. In Japan, 18 percent of teenagers aged 15 through 19 work, while in Germany, 30.8 percent of teenagers in that age bracket work.

One recent Friday, Alicia, the waitress, a senior at Governor Livingston Regional High School in Berkeley Heights, N.J., acknowledged that she had put in a grueling week. Alicia, who works at Johnny Rockets, a 1950's-style diner at the Short Hills Mall, had missed one day of school that week and arrived late the four other days.

The reason was that she had to work past midnight on Tuesday and Thursday, and that came after working from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

"It's fun, and I get a lot of money — I made $240 on Saturday alone," she said, noting that she sometimes earns $40 in tips in an hour when it is busy.

"I'm not doing good in school this semester," Alicia acknowledged, her tone half rueful, half isn't-this-cool. "Because of work, I come into school late or I stay home because I'm so tired."

Joan Tonto, one of Alicia's teachers, said, "She's tired when she comes into school, and by sixth period she's too tired to work on problems in class. I've talked to Alicia about how her job is affecting her in school, and she says, `I'm making a lot of money, Mrs. Tonto.' "

Teenage labor dates from colonial times, when many youths served as apprentices or helped sow and harvest. But with the nation's rapid industrialization came heightened concerns about teenage labor because of the increased emphasis on education and the many exposés about businesses exploiting children.

Still, many parents urge their children to work, saying it is better than sitting around watching television.

Laura Stifel, whose son Jason Ferry has the 30-hour-a-week supermarket job in Southington, Conn., saw a benefit to teenagers' working. "I think it's great that kids work because it leaves them with less time to get in trouble or be out on the street," she said.

But when she began to worry that Jason's $7.75-an-hour job was taking a toll on his grades, Ms. Stifel barred him from using his car until he got his grades back up.

In the summer of 1999, a 16-year- old Southington High School student working at an amusement park died when he stepped too close to the amusement ride he was tending and was dragged underneath. About 70 teenagers die each year in work- related accidents, and safety experts say these accidents occur because teenage workers often receive little training or supervision.

Federal regulations bar 12-year- olds and 13-year-olds from working in most jobs, with one exception being delivering newspapers. Federal rules prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from working more than three hours or past 7 p.m. on school days. The federal government places no restrictions on the hours 16- and 17- year-olds can work, leaving the matter to the states.

Jeffrey Ellenberg, who owns a dry- cleaning shop in West Hartford, likes hiring teenagers.

"We used to have quite a few more high school students working," he said. "Unfortunately, in this economy we can't get more of them. The advantage is you can train them to do what full-timers do, but you don't have to pay them the full-time wages and benefits."

At Mr. Ellenberg's shop, Rebecca Gohsler, 16, works two or three afternoons a week behind the counter and 10 hours on Saturdays. Although Rebecca's guidance counselor frets that Rebecca's job is pulling down her grades and pulling her away from extracurricular activities, Rebecca sees her $8-an-hour job as one of the best things in her life. She likes the spending money, likes chatting with customers and likes the sense of independence.

Rebecca, who hopes to become a marine biologist, said her job sometimes undercut her schoolwork. "If I just came home from work and I have a paper to write, there is a chance I might not spend as much time on it or put in enough effort," she said.

Many educators say parents should crack down on their teenagers' jobs if grades start to languish. Carol Hawkins did just that last spring, ordering her son Jon, 16, a junior at Governor Livingston High, to cut back his 20 hours a week pumping gas when his grades started to suffer.

"This year I've been able to manage my work and my school better," Jon said. "But sometimes I still have to study until 2 in the morning."

Several studies have found that 20 percent to 30 percent of teenage workers contribute to family expenses. Most use their earnings for cars, gasoline, clothes, cosmetics, cell phones, pagers and movies.

Dawne Naples, a guidance counselor at Southington High, said she advised Jason Ferry, when his grades were suffering, that it was unwise to work 30 hours a week, largely to pay for his car and gasoline. " `The car will get you around town,' I told him, `but what's going to get you beyond Southington High?' " she said.

Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company