Support for Working Students: Understanding the Impacts of Employment on Students’ Lives

Abstract

The majority of college students work, and there are well-documented findings about the impacts of student work on academic performance. However, there is little research on the impacts of this work on other aspects of students’ lives. In this study we ask: What are the impacts of student employment beyond academic performance? Using our methodological approach of student-driven research and a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis, we find that work has four main impacts on students’ lives: it limits flexibility in students’ schedules, leaving them vulnerable in emergencies; it requires students to make difficult financial calculations; it can cause students’ social lives and mental health to suffer; and, despite these negative impacts, students find work to be fulfilling. With these understandings, we propose ways that university programs, faculty, and academic staff can support working students by accommodating students’ time and financial constraints.