So, Teens, You Really Want To Work Now, Do You?

This Article written by a hubpages.com Expert Writer.

In today's economy many families are struggling just to make ends meet at all. This is just one of many reasons why some Teens may choose to work, either Part Time, or maybe even Summer, jobs. While these jobs build skills for these young workers, and help occupy their spare time, let alone allow them to be another contributing factor to their families, monetarily, if need be, or put a little spending money in their own pockets should they be one of the fortunate few who can still do so in these troubling times, Teens and Parents need to be aware of some pitfalls to avoid any occupational hazards the Teens may encounter on their worksites.

Six million American Teens now hold jobs that allow them to learn how to manage money, develop time-management skills, gain a sense of responsibility, become efficient problem solvers with other people, and a host of other skills they learn working, but there are just as many down sides to Teen jobs as well. Incidents ranging from cuts and burns in restaurant kitchens, to injuries sustained from using power tools, and falls from roofs working construction and landscaping jobs, account for approximately 230,000 Teen work-related injuries annually, and according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, unfortunately, between 60 and 70 deaths of Teen workers occur yearly. (Close to half of those are in agricultural jobs, and are 60 to 70 too many).

Other issues Teen workers some times have to face on the job may include sexual harassment, hostile co-workers/managers/customers, and many others that can inflict emotional harm on these young workers who are unprepared to deal with them in ways more experienced adult workers are.

Many Teens are now working a whole lot of hours, with the average number of hours Teens work weekly being about 16 hours on the job. More than 80% of Teens work after 7pm on school nights, and about half work past 9pm. Much of the trouble Teens encounter on the job occurs during these hours.

How do concerned Parents best help their Teen workers with problems they encounter on the job? Before allowing your Teen to accept a job find out all you can about the proposed work place. Once your Teen begins employment, occasionally drop by once in a while, and notice how the Management treats their employees, and whether safety measures are being followed. Parents need to know the Labor Laws and be able to explain them to their Teen workers. Parents need to ask if anything inappropriate happens in the work place like Teen workers laboring past allowed to-work-hours and time limits. Parents should not hesitate to enforce their own rules as well, such as no working past 7pm on school nights. Parents must pull answers out of Teens who will not tell them what they want to know, things like, "Since you began working there have your responsibilities changed?" This allows Parents to assess if their Teen's duties have become riskier since they began their employment. Parents need to be alert for signs of sexual harassment their Teens may be subjected to on the job. These signs may include the Teens being worried, exhausted, agitated, or secretive when questioned about their work environment. Key questions to ask them include if anybody ever made crude comments to them while on the job, or touched them in a way that may have been totally inappropriate.

Many benefits exist for Teens who work. In the proper atmosphere they can learn respect, compassion, confidence, responsibility, money management smarts, and many more life skills to enrich themselves. Working Teens also need to learn to speak up for themselves when necessary and not allow employers to make them do things they should not be doing on the job.

Teens responsibilities on the work site need to be clearly spelled out for them to easily understand what is expected of them. Teens need to know when is the right time to take actions to resolve problems they may have on the job, such as being pressured to work past the time it is legally allowed for them to work, even if the Teen's best course of action is to quit the job and find a new one, and, of course, report the Manager, or the Company, to their State's Department of Labor.

While Parents are the ultimate authority for when their Teens should be allowed to work, the US Department of Labor says when Teens can legally work and what they are allowed to do on work sites.

13-year olds can work at their Parent's discretion in such fields as babysitting, petsitting, mail collection for vacationing neighbors, snow shoveling, yard work, (without using power tools), delivering newspapers, and assisting in businesses owned by their Parents.

14 and 15-year olds can not work if it coincides with their scheduled school hours, they must only work between the hours of 7am and 7pm, (9pm in the Summer), 3 hours on school days, 18 hours during school weeks, 8 hours on non-school days, and 40 hours during non-school weeks. Suggested work fields include retail store clerks, library assistants, or office filing duties.

16 and 17-year olds can work any time of day for any number of hours, in all positions except those designated hazardous by the Department of Labor. Ideal jobs for this age group of Teens are those that are related to the Teen's possible career choice. If the perspective job includes working with explosives, driving, mining, logging, roofing, excavating, demolition, or anything involving using power-driven machines, these Teen workers are not permitted to legally work them under regulations established by the Department of Labor.

So, Teens, do you really want to work now?