The present study investigates the relationship between school students' part-time employment and their academic engagement and psychological well-being. High school students completed a questionnaire assessing the quantity and quality of their employment, cognitive and behavioural aspects of their academic engagement, and levels of stress they were experiencing. Employed students reported significantly greater stress in terms of less ability to cope with day-to-day events than did students who were not employed. Employed students also reported comparatively lower levels of attentiveness and cognitive engagement at school than students who were not employed. Gender effects also emerged: boys appeared to benefit more from employment than girls both in terms of lower levels of depression and higher self-concept when work conditions were positive. Implications for both individual counselling and whole-school welfare are discussed.
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