Early work experience: A partial antidote for adolescent egocentrism

Abstract

One of the most important lessons a young person may learn from working is how to interact effectively with others. This potential outcome of work experience has received virtually no attention from proponents of the early integration of adolescents into the workplace. In this paper we suggest that working may contribute to the development of more advanced social understanding (i.e., social sensitivity, social insight, and effective social communication and manipulation) by requiring youngsters to (a) shift back and forth between diverse roles and (b) interact frequently with strangers. Illustrative material is presented from interviews with 100 working adolescents and their parents.

Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective

“…Work requires the individual to bend his/her ideal vision of things to fit the real: "In other words, the job leads thinking away from the dangers of formalism back to reality" (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958, p. 346). Steinberg, Greenberger, Jacobi, and Garduque (1981) also suggest that work experience leads to the decline of adolescent egocentrism and support that contention with interviews with high school students who have part-time jobs. However, several studies (Bachman, Johnston, & O'Malley, 1982;Ruggiero, Greenberger, & Steinberg, 1982;Shannon, 1982) have found that working may actually promote reckless behavior by providing adolescents with the money to engage in it, by creating stress that adolescents may ameliorate through substance use, and by providing an additional venue for stealing money and property.…”

“I Didn't Recognize It as a Bad Experience until I was Much Older”: Age, Experience, and Workers’ Perceptions of Sexual Harassment

“…Our findings, together with prior research showing high rates of sexualized interactions in the adolescent workplace (Reiter 1991), suggest that those whose power is limited by their young age may benefit from special training or expanded protections regarding sexual harassment. At the same time, as previous studies show ( Levine and Hoffner 2006;Mortimer 2003;Steinberg et al 1981), work socializes adolescents to the norms and expectations of the workplace and adulthood more generally. While young workers may indeed be particularly vulnerable, we can take some reassurance in the fact that their experiences are not always understood as problematic at the time, or in retrospect.…”

“…As many as 70 percent of women and 1 in 7 men experience sexual harassment at work (e.g., Fitzgerald and Shullman 1993;Fitzgerald et al 1988;Gruber 1992;Kalof, Eby, Matheson, and Kroska 2001;Thacker 1996;Uggen and Blackstone 2004;USMSPB 1988). These rates are striking, but especially notable in light of the socialization function that employment serves for the youngest workers (Levine and Hoffner 2006;Mortimer 2003;Steinberg, Greenberger, Jacobi, and Garduque 1981). Young people learn workplace norms in their early jobs.…”

travail rémunéré chez les adolescents et les adolescentes du Saguenay /

“…D'ailleurs, la consommation a été définie par certains sociologues comme un mode de vie (Featherstone, 1991;Miles, 1998;Warde, 1997). Greenberger, Steinberg, Vaux & McAuliffe, 1980;Steinberg, Greenberger, Jacobi & Garduque, 1981;Steinberg, Greenberger, Vaux & Ruggiero, 1980 (Greenberger & Steinberg, 1986;Ianni, 1989;Kablaoui & Pautler, 1991;Largie et al, 2001). indépendance à l'intérieur des autres sphères de la vie (Hurrelmann, 1989 (Finch & Mortimer, 1985 …”

“…Plusieurs études consacrées aux étudiants qui travaillent à temps partiel pendant l'année scolaire 27 suggèrent globalement que le travail entraîne des coûts aussi bien que des bénéfices à la socialisation et au développement des adolescents et des adolescentes Greenberger, Steinberg, Vaux & McAuliffe, 1980;Steinberg, Greenberger, Jacobi & Garduque, 1981;Steinberg, Greenberger, Vaux & Ruggiero, 1980 (Aronson, Mortimer, Zierman & Hacker, 1996;Phillips & Sandstrom, 1990 (Greenberger & Steinberg, 1986;Mortimer, Harley & Staff, 2002 (Hamilton & Crouter, 1980;Jordaan & Heyde, 1979;Mihalic & Elliott, 1997;Schill, McCartin & Meyer, 1985;Steinberg, Greenberger, Garduque, Ruggiero & Vaux, 1982;Steinberg, Greenberger, Jacobi & Garduque, 1981 (Conger, 1977;Greenberger & Sorensen, 1974;Simmons, Blyth, Van Cleave & Bush, 1979). Or, si les études sur le stress au travail et les changements de la vie révèlent que ces éléments ont des effets négatifs sur la santé et le comportement des adultes , de la même façon, Bisson (1992 : 34) Pour Schill, McCartin et Meyer (1985), les coûts associés au travail rémunéré à l'adolescence résident dans le contenu et l'environnement des emplois disponibles pour les jeunes, qui ne fournissent par l'opportunité d'acquérir des habiletés vocationnelles, des rôles adultes ou de la maturité sociale (Behn, Carnoy, Carter, Crain & Levin, 1974;.…”