Why?
Why should teens find a job? Why can finding a job be harder for teens with disabilities?
Why is it important for teens to find a job?
Having a job as a teen helps build many skills that will carry into your adult life including:
• Communication- When applying for a job, communication is crucial from the beginning. Emailing for your application, being notified about landing the job, letting a boss know about scheduling conflicts, and any needed updates require communication and as you continue to do so, these skills will become second nature. In addition to communicating online, working a job will also help grow in-person communication skills. In most jobs, working with others is a requirement and whether you are constantly engaged in small talk or conversations about work, exposure to communicating with others will come naturally.
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• Self Advocacy- Teens develop self advocacy by communicating their personal, as well as their professional, needs in the workplace. One way teens advocate for themselves is having to speak up for schedule negotiations. If shifts conflict with school, family events, sports practices, or other prescheduled conflicts, it is important to stick up for yourself and let your boss know that you are not able to work that day. Teens also have to clarify any tasks that are unclear on the job. For example, if you work as a cashier and the cash register has a malfunction, employees need to let a coworker or boss know who can help assist in fixing the issue. It is also necessary to set limits and boundaries if you are feeling burnt out or as if you have reached your limits, it is important to communicate that or else it can lead to many other more severe issues down the road.
• Confidence- Having a job builds confidence in teens because it shows them how capable they are in the real world. By mastering new tasks, teens often receive positive reinforcements which teaches them that they can handle adult responsibilities. Receiving a paycheck also makes hard work feel worth it. Seeing that money being deposited into your paycheck gives teens a strong sense of pride and accomplishment for the time they have devoted to the job.
• Time management- Because of school, most teens balance part time jobs with their schedules instead of full time jobs. Part time jobs still require substantial time and if you are immediately penalized if you are late or miss a shift without warning which teaches accountability and punctuality. Teens are also responsible for creating a schedule that works with school, any sports, or outside commitments like homework which makes prioritizing tasks important as well. TIP: during the school year, working more than 15-20 hours per week can lead to significant burnout and negatively impact grades, sleep schedules, and level s of stress.
• Independence- Having a job is one of the first times teens can have something to themselves. When receiving a paycheck, it opens a door to financial independence and responsibility because teens decide what to do with their earned money. Teens are also held accountable for managing their routine and balancing many things that are going on in their lives. They are required to make decisions outside of their parents, forcing them to test their problem solving skills.Â
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I am working for a class that I used to attend when I was younger...I [don't] have any challenges about getting the job but people still think I attend the class as a student.
Having a job increased my confidence by talking to new people. I am also keeping a budget on what I spend my money on...just be yourself [and] don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Talk to people you know and tell them that you're looking for a job and they may be able to help you out.
-Kathleen, young adult employee
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Ableism
Ableism is defined as prejudice or discrimination aimed at people with disabilities, sometimes with an underlying desire of making them "normal". People who do not have a disability, especially employers, often view those who do as being defined by their disability and therefore not as capable because of their differences.
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There are many factors that can contribute to ableism including:
• Anxiety and awkwardness when interacting socially with those who are disabled.
• Thinking people who are different than them are not equal to them.
• Some people may have thought of fear of death if they see someone with mobility issues, physical function loss, or amputated body parts.
• Someone's background can also influence how they view those with disabilities (ex. someone with a higher education may act more positively towards those with disabilities).
• Preconceived notions or factors pertaining to disabilities like severity, contagiousness, visibility and predictability.