Student Workers and Mental Health
Mental Health issues are increasingly prevalent among college students:
- 73% of college students experience some sort of mental health crisis during college.
- Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, substance use, and eating disorders are associated with lower GPA and a higher probability of dropping out of college.
- More than 80% of college students felt overwhelmed, and 45% felt hopeless
Although it may be difficult to admit, being a full-time college student and full-time employee is one of the most challenging and stressful situations one can experience. Trying to balance both causes a tremendous toll and can affect a person's physical and mental well-being.
Recently, educational systems have shown concern for the mental health and well-being of university students, highlighting depression, anxiety, and suicide risk. According to the scholarly article Self- Rated Health and Psychological Distress among Emerging Adults: A Comparison between Data on University Students, Young Workers, and Working Students, "Employment can have a protective impact on young worker's psychological well-being...it can be demanding and can compromise mental health: young workers seem to experience high levels of psychological distress due to low control of employment status, psycho-social stressors such as harassment and addictive behaviors".
Students experiencing higher psychological distress is a matter of great concern for educational and occupational systems because they show a higher risk of burnout, academic failure, and dropping out of university. The results of the study found that student workers showed an increased risk of anxiety or depression, yet they were more likely to report weak mental health compared to workers and a lower risk of poor physical health.
When a student has difficulty managing school and work, it can cause a summation of pressure and stress, affecting their mental health. Causing depressive episodes and even affecting their physical well-being. One of the main worries students have is their grades; this can cause stress, often causing them to develop anxiety disorders.
How this Social Issue Affects Me
This issue directly affects me because managing both and creating a well-balanced schedule as a full-time student and employee can be challenging. Making extra time out of class to complete assignments and projects and rest from a physically demanding minimum-wage job is difficult. In my situation, I feel pressured to have a job to financially support my college and personal familial expenses. Added to the pressure of maintaining excellent grades and graduating on time, all add up to an incredible amount of anxiety and fear of failure, which affects my mental well-being.
Personally, I have gone through both mental and physical health issues, which have led me to urgent care in three particular situations throughout my college experience. I have also noticed my grades slipping due to my full-time job and stress. I know many other student workers may have gone through similar experiences and chose to try to reach out and show they weren't alone.
Community
References
Franzoi, I. G., D’Ovidio, F., Costa, G., d’Errico, A., & Granieri, A. (2021). Self-rated health and psychological distress among emerging adults in Italy: A comparison between data on university students, Young Workers and working students collected through the 2005 and 2013 National Health Surveys. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12), 6403. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126403
Eliza Abdu-Glass, S. S. (2023b, June 8). The College Mental Health Crisis: A call for cultural change – part 2. Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds. https://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-concerns/college-mental-health-crisis-call-cultural-change-part-2/
Spitalniak, L. (2023, January 18). College student, employee mental health worsened last year, survey finds. Higher Ed Dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/college-student-employee-mental-health-worsened-NASPA/640669/
Isabella Santoro, A. A. E. (2021, December 6). How being a full-time student and employee affects Mental Health. The Anchor Newspaper. https://www.anchorweb.org/post/how-being-a-full-time-student-and-employee-affects-mental-health
Yvonne Garcia
