Education + Training

Student part-time employment: characteristics and consequences

David Robotham

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Student part-time employment:

characteristics and consequences

Student parttime employment

David Robotham
Department of Human Resource Management, De Montfort University,
Leicester, UK

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Abstract
Purpose The aim of the paper is to examine the consequences of students engaging in part-time
employment during their studies. It reports the results of a survey of part-time employment among
university students. The research examined the possible consequences of combining part-time
employment with full-time study, with particular reference to stress.
Design/methodology/approach The research consisted of an institution-wide Web-based survey
of full-time undergraduates within a post-1992 university in the UK.
Findings The survey found that part-time employment, in common with many previous studies, is
a majority experience for full-time undergraduates. It also found that some students were spending
longer in their chosen employment than in time-tabled classes. A central finding was that unlike much
previous research, it emerged here that students reported more positive than negative outcomes.
Practical implications The data shows that students continue to engage in part-time employment
at a significant level and for some studying is almost a secondary activity. This perhaps raises
questions about the existing model of higher education delivery and the need for institutions to
consider offering more support mechanisms for individual students.
Originality/value The paper is of value in seeking to clarify the nature of the consequences for
students seeking to combine employment and studying. Furthermore the paper builds on our
understanding of the continuing growth of student part-time employment.
Keywords Part-time employment, Part-time workers, Student experience, Stress, United Kingdom
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
An increasingly prominent feature of the higher education sector in the UK is the rise
in the number of students studying full-time, while working in part-time employment.
This is not, however, a new phenomenon and part-time working has been a feature of
the university experience for some time (Barron and Anastasiadou, 2009). This means
that term-time working is now a common place aspect of the undergraduate student
experience (Moreau and Leatherwood, 2006). It has been suggested, however, that
perhaps the notion of the full-time student is increasingly one that is no longer
applicable (Curtis and Shani, 2002). This situation has arisen in part as a consequence
of changes in the manner in which higher education is funded by government. Central
to these changes is the shift in the financial burden away from the state and towards
the student (Metcalf, 2005). The aim of this paper is to examine the nature of students
part-time employment and to discuss the reported consequences of holding such
employment during term time.
Student part-time employment has been receiving an increased level of interest
from academic researchers since the early 1990s. A growing body of literature
has investigated this phenomenon, with a view to establishing the nature of that
employment, and the possible consequences for individuals seeking to combine study
The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, and also Alan
Macpherson, Amanda Thompson and Bob Carter for their comments on an earlier version of this
paper.

65
Received 8 February 2011
Revised 7 June 2011
4 July 2011
Accepted 5 July 2011

Education Training
Vol. 54 No. 1, 2012
pp. 65-75
r Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0040-0912
DOI 10.1108/00400911211198904

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and employment. The participation of university students in the labour market during
their studies is not a new development, however, and in some countries such activity is
the norm rather than the exception. Research carried out in other countries indicates
that the prevalence of part-time student employment continues to grow. In Germany
student employment is a well-established phenomenon (Winkler, 2009). While the
Eurostudent Survey (HIS, 2005) found term-time employment rates of 20 per cent in
Portugal, 30 per cent in Italy, 69 per cent in Ireland and 91 per cent in the Netherlands.
Beyond Europe the statistics also indicate variations in the rate of employment
across different countries. A large scale survey in Australia (n 34,752) found that
72.5 per cent of those who responded held a part-time job during term time (Long and
Hayden, 2001). This figure marked an increase in student employment of more than
20 per cent since the survey was first commissioned in 1984. This growth in student
part-time employment in Australia is supported by Salamonson and Andrew (2006) in
a survey of 267 nursing students. They found that more than three quarters of the
students held a part-time job during their studies, working on average for 14 hours per
week. A smaller scale survey at a single university in New Zealand (n 83) reported
that 81 per cent held a part-time job during term time (Manthei and Gilmore, 2005).
Evidence from China indicates that some students are engaging in part-time
employment during their studies. For example, Tam and Morrison (2005) found that
66.9 per cent of students held a part-time job in a survey conducted at a single
institution (n 417). They also reported that over 80 per cent of the sample found that,
overall, working while studying was beneficial to their academic work.
However, this prevalence of employment amongst higher education students is not
reflected in all countries. In a study of 466 undergraduates in Greece, where there is no
established tradition of students being engaged in employment, it was found that the
majority did not work during term time (Mihail and Karaliopoulou, 2005). What these
studies do not indicate is whether reported levels of term-time employment are directly
related per se to a funding system where students pay some form of fees, or whether
they are a function of a particular cultural or societal system.
In the UK the higher education sector has also witnessed a rise in the proportion of
students holding a part-time job during term time. According to data from the Trades
Union Congress (2006), between spring 1996 and spring 2006, the number of students
reported as holding a job during term time rose by 54 per cent to 630,778. While the
Student Living Report UNITE (2004) found that 39 per cent of students were working
part time and 3 per cent were working full time during their studies.
Perhaps the key change in the higher education sector has been in the way in which
the sector is funded (see Greenaway and Haynes, 2003, for an overview of the main
changes in the sector). In the UK policy changes meant that the maintenance grant for
higher education students was replaced with a means-tested student loan, which is
paid back once the individual is earning above a set threshold (Curtis, 2005). One
consequence of this change in funding is that students are increasingly facing financial
pressures (Schafer, 1996) as the cost of higher education has shifted increasingly from
the state to the student (and students families) (Metcalf, 2005). In the academic year
1999/2000, more than 74 per cent of eligible students took out a student loan (DfEE,
2000). This means UK university students are facing greater financial pressures than
those in other European countries (EURYDICE, 1999) and that financial debt is an
inevitable part of going to university (Carney et al., 2005). The most recent change to
funding saw central government reducing the grant to higher education providers, in
particular a substantial reduction in the amount paid to support teaching. To counter

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this universities in 2012 will be allowed to charge students up to 6,000 per annum,
and up to 9,000 per annum if they meet published criteria for widening access.
A note of caution is necessary, however, as the relationship between shifting the
financial burden from the state to the student, and the increase in part-time student
employment, is not a causal one and may be due to other factors (Metcalf, 2005). This is
because levels of student employment are a function of the level of employment
generally in the economy; the socio-demographic profile of students; the nature of the
available financial support structure; and the amount of class contact time required by
the course (Darmody and Smyth, 2008). This view is supported by Ryland et al. (1994)
who argue that the relationship between students and their participation in the labour
market is a complex one.
Broadbridge and Swanson (2005) are critical of the existing student employment
literature and they put forward three central weaknesses in this knowledge base. First,
the majority of studies have failed to take into consideration the wider context in which
changes in student employment have occurred. Second, previous empirical work has
failed to investigate long-term changes in student participation in the labour market.
Third, little consideration has been given to the impact of part-time employment on the
overall quality of life experienced by students. A further weakness of existing studies
is that so far they have failed to establish conclusively whether term-time employment
is either a negative or a positive feature of the higher education sector. The contribution
of this paper is in seeking to establish more clearly the consequences for individual
students of attempting to combine full-time study with part-time employment. While
some studies have reported benefits (time management, enhanced employability,
improved social skills), there is a comparable number that reported negative outcomes
(reduction in reading, missing time-tabled classes, tiredness). The overall aim of
this paper is to build on the work of Ford and Bosworth (1995) and Moreau and
Leatherwood (2006), to clarify the nature of the relationship between term-time
employment and studying in higher education.
Method
Design and sample
Following a review of previous studies of student part-time employment, a self-report
questionnaire was developed based upon the key issues to emerge from the literature.
A central issue from this review was the apparent ambiguity concerning whether
holding part-time employment could be characterised as being desirable or undesirable.
In particular the questionnaire design drew upon the survey work of Curtis and
Shani (2002), Barke et al. (2000) and Ford and Bosworth (1995). This questionnaire
was piloted on a small scale (n 421) within one school of the university. In light
of data generated a revised version of the questionnaire was developed. The aim
of the questionnaire was to generate data concerning; the prevalence of part-time
work undertaken during term time, the nature of part-time employment among
the universitys undergraduate student population, students motivation for engaging
in part-time work, its salience as a source of student stress, and the impact of
holding part-time employment on students, with particular reference to their ability
to cope with the demands of combining academic study and employment. Section 1
of the questionnaire contained demographic questions concerning course of study,
faculty, age, gender and ethnicity. The second section of the questionnaire focused
on data relating to respondents financial status. In section 3 questions concerned
the characteristics of any term-time employment held. The final section of the

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survey concentrated on the consequences of combining studying and part-time

employment.
Sample
The study was carried out at a large post-1992 university in the UK that currently has
27,000 students across the institution. All of those invited to taker part in the survey
were full-time undergraduate students studying on a range of higher education
programmes. Each undergraduate student was contacted via e-mail and invited to
complete an online survey concerning part-time employment. The survey was
completed by 1,827 students studying on the following programmes diploma in higher
education (n 57), higher national diploma (n 53), foundation degrees (n 51) and
degrees (n 1,666). The response rate for the survey was just under 11 per cent. There
was a slight gender bias in the sample with 57 per cent of respondents being female
and 43 per cent male, although this is broadly representative of the student population
for the institution as a whole, which is comprised of more female than male
students 55-45 per cent, respectively, in 2008-2009. The average age of respondents
was 21 and the participants were drawn from all years of study; first year (49 per cent),
second year (25 per cent) and final year (26 per cent) and across all faculties.
Results and discussion
Paid part-time employment during term time
At the time of the survey 67 per cent held a part-time job during term time and
12 per cent held more than one job. In the context of findings from previous studies this
level of engagement in employment is broadly comparable with similar institutions in
the sector (see Salamonson and Andrew, 2006; Manthei and Gilmore, 2005; Moreau
and Leatherwood, 2006; Curtis, 2007; Tam and Morrison, 2005). When this figure for
employment is broken down by faculty, individuals studying humanities were more
likely to hold a part-time job (126 out of 301 students) when compared to other subject
areas within the institution. This represents an area for further study as previous work
has tended to focus on a narrow range of subject disciplines. Although Metcalf (2005)
also found higher levels of employment among social science and humanities students,
arguing that this may be due in part to lower attendance requirements in those subject
areas. This study also revealed a significant correlation (r 0.17) between year of
study and part-time employment, with students in their second or final year of study
being more likely to hold a part-time position. This is an interesting finding given that
nearly half of the sample was comprised of first year students. This is also in contrast
to previous findings which reported that final year students were less likely to hold
employment (Darmody and Smyth, 2008). It is also worth noting that of those who held
a part-time job, 80 per cent expected that they would need to seek employment during
their studies to survive financially.
Working hours
With regard to the number of hours worked, 44 per cent of the sample were working up
to ten hours per week at their chosen employer, with 10 per cent working more than
20 hours per week and 4 per cent working more than 30 hours per week. However,
many of the respondents in this survey did not have a consistent working pattern each
week, and so any figure for average hours per week may mask important variations
between students (Moreau and Leatherwood, 2006). The average weekly hours across
the sample was 13.05 hours, which is comparable to some previous surveys which have

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ranged from 12 to 14 hours per week (Hunt et al., 2004; Metcalf, 2005; Carney et al.,
2005; Salamonson and Andrew, 2006). This means that the statistics here do not
support a more general trend of working hours increasing amongst students since the
1990s (Broadbridge and Swanson, 2005).
The issue of the length of time spent in employment is important due to the effect it
may have on a students academic performance, although it has been suggested that it
is the ability of the individual to manage their time effectively which is more important
(Carney et al., 2005). Kulm and Sheran (2006), following a review of the literature, found
that students working o20 hours per week reported little or no effect on academic
performance. Respondents were asked about the average number of class contact
hours per week, with a reported average of 14.1 hours. This means that 40 per cent of
the sample was working longer in their part-time work than they did in lectures and
tutorials. A related issue is the relative importance that individuals place on their job in
comparison to their degree studies. When asked the extent to which employment
commitments were fitted around university commitments, the majority (60 per cent)
answered that their study took priority.
Motivation to work
An important issue is the underlying motivation for students seeking part-time
employment, particularly given the changes in the funding of higher education. It
would seem reasonable to suggest that a decline in central funding would ceteris
paribus see a growing number of students citing financial pressures as a reason for
seeking term-time employment. In this study 32 per cent had taken up employment
to maintain a desired standard of living while 15 per cent had done so as an
alternative to borrowing money. Some previous studies also reported the presence
of financial pressures as a principal driver for individuals to look for a part-time
position (Barke et al., 2000; Universities UK, 2005; Curtis, 2007). It is interesting to note
that of those working part time at the time of the survey, 50 per cent had still felt the
need to take out a bank over draft. A further issue that arises is the subjective nature of
what is regarded by an individual student as being a desired standard of living or a
financial necessity (Broadbridge and Swanson, 2005).
Less than 1 per cent of the sample (n 15) stated that the job they held was related
directly to their course of study or to their intended future career. This finding is
important as some claim that one of the benefits of term-time employment is that it can
enhance employability (Watts and Pickering, 2000; Winn and Stevenson, 1993; Harvey
et al., 1998). It is also claimed that work can be beneficial as it is means for students to
go out without spending money (Lucas and Lamont, 1998). Lindsay and Paton-Saltzberg
(1996) found, however, that working offered no positive contribution to an individuals
academic work.
Industry sector
Table I illustrates the sector where students were working and shows that the
majority of the sample was employed in the retail or service sector. This supports the
findings of previous studies which reported that students were employed in service
industries such as retailing, catering, hotels and bars (Broadbridge and Swanson,
2005), checkout operators, bar staff and sales (Barke et al., 2000). Although perhaps
more important than where students work is the precise nature of the jobs that
they do, as the majority of these jobs are unskilled (Broadbridge and Swanson, 2005)
(Table II).

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Table I.
Sample characteristics

Table II.
Student part-time
employment by industry
sector (n 598)

Faculty
Business and law
Technology
Health and life sciences
Art and design
Humanities
Year of study
First
Second
On placement
Final

(%)

469
364
397
296
301

26
20
22
16
16

890
451
36
450

49
25
2
24

Sector

(%)

Retail
Call centre
Pub/wine bar
Restaurant
Financial services
Sport/leisure centre
Fast food
Social care/nursing
Other
On campus

37
4
12
5
1
2
4
7
22
6

Consequences of working part time

There is a continuing debate over whether combining full-time study and part-time
employment is beneficial or detrimental to the individual. To explore this issue,
participants were presented with a range of consequences experienced while working
part-time identified by participants in previous studies, and asked to identify those
outcomes that they had experienced (Note: the headings positive and negative were
not used at that stage) (Table III).
The findings are interesting as they indicate that individuals who held a part-time
job in this study experienced a greater number of positive effects derived from that
employment. These results would seem to be in agreement with much of the existing
literature where similar findings were apparent. Tam and Morrison (2005) also report
some benefits derived from part-time employment such as enhanced employability,
while Manthei and Gilmore (2005) found that students reported enhanced time
management skills as a result of their work experiences. The factors listed could
be termed as being vocational rather than academic benefits, in contrast to much of the
previous work.
In a qualitative study of student employment Moreau and Leatherwood (2006)
found that individuals holding a job always or usually found their academic studies a
struggle. This is similar to the findings of Carney et al. (2005) who concluded that the
majority of those surveyed found their academic studies had been affected. In a study

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Positive outcomes
Improved my ability to deal with other people
Helped me to organise my time better
Improved my communication skills
Increased my self-confidence
Enabled me to relate more to what I learn
Increased my motivation
Helped me to work better as part of a team
Negative outcomes
Been late for classes
Handed in an assignment late
Failed an assignment
Achieved a lower grade
Done less work/reading
Felt so tired you cannot concentrate
Work seemed more important
Cut down on leisure/social activities

Frequency

(%)

Student parttime employment

400
300
398
397
134
208
335

70
52
69
69
23
36
58

71

67
48
20
81
257
191
56
325

11
8
3
13
42
31
9
53

of student nurses Salamonson and Andrew (2006) found that students who did not
work had the highest scores in assessments, and that scores decreased as the amount
of time spent in part-time employment increased. They also note, however, that
academic performance can be affected by other factors. To investigate the impact of
holding employment upon academic performance in more detail, the sample were
asked if they felt they would have done better on assessments without a job. Of those
who responded, 58 per cent felt they would indeed have performed better. It is evident
that a reduction in leisure activities is the main outcome that arises from individuals
holding a part-time job, followed by less time being spent on reading for their course.
This does, however, raise the somewhat contentious issue of the extent to which
time for students to engage in leisure activities while at university is important. This
impact on leisure time is supported by the findings of previous studies which have
also reported similar outcomes (Manthei and Gilmore, 2005; Ford and Bosworth, 1995;
Lindsay and Paton-Saltzberg, 1996; Van Dyke and Little, 2002). The results here
also indicate that part-time employment negatively affects some aspects of academic
life, although to a lesser degree than social aspects. This presence of both negative and
positive outcomes is supported by the findings of others (see Watts and Pickering,
2000), i.e. part-time employment whilst not being entirely negative, does incur some
costs.
Stress and part-time employment
There has been a growth in interest in the quality of students university lives and their
well-being, in particular the stress experienced by students (Robotham and Julian,
2006) and a large number of studies have investigated its causes and prevalence (see
e.g. Jogaratnam and Buchanan, 2004; Akgun and Ciarrochi, 2003; Michie et al., 2001;
Daly and Willcock, 2002). There is evidence that some students experience significant
levels of stress (Brown and Ralph, 1999; Bush et al., 1985) and that some are
increasingly suffering mental health problems (Andrews and Wilding, 2004; Stanley
and Manthorpe, 2001). The consequences of stress can be devastating for some

Table III.
Outcomes of part-time
employment

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72

individuals (Abouserie, 1994) and this is particularly true for those students
undergoing the transition from home to university (Fisher, 1994). However, it is
important to consider that not all the stress that students may experience is, by
definition, negative (Anderson and Pulich, 2001) and that universities do offer students
the potential to experience positive stress (eustress) (Brown and Ralph, 1999).
Students in this sample who were working part time were asked whether this
had an effect on the stress they experienced. Fifty-four per cent indicated that
holding employment increased their levels of stress, and 28 per cent responded that it
reduced their ability to cope with stress. However, 28 per cent of the sample felt that
combining employment and study increased their ability to cope with stress. Previous
research on the impact of employment on stress, or more general mental health and
psychological well-being, has thus far been limited (Broadbridge and Swanson, 2005).
In one of the few studies undertaken, Carney et al. (2005) found that it had only a
slightly detrimental effect on mental health. Given the continuing growth in student
employment, its effect on mental health would seem to represent an area for further
investigation.
Conclusion
This paper set out to investigate the nature and composition of student part-time
employment amongst higher education students through reporting the results of an online survey undertaken in a UK university. The findings from the survey indicate that
students continue to undertake part-time jobs during their studies and that they do so
at a significant level. This adds further weight to the view that combining academic
study with part-time employment continues to be a majority experience for students.
A second key finding relates to the amount of time that individuals are spending
in employment in comparison to time spent in the lecture room. Students at this
institution are not only working significantly beyond the official UK government
guidelines for part-time employment of a maximum of ten hours per week, some are
also spending more hours per week in their chosen employment than in time-tabled
university classes. These jobs are also concentrated within a relatively narrow range of
industrial sectors, with most students being in jobs in retail. However, these findings
need to be seen in the context of changes in the higher education sector.
The survey also looked at the possible effects, on both academic study and student
well-being, of this combination of employment and study. The ongoing discussion in the
literature is somewhat divided over the benefits or otherwise of term-time employment.
Some researchers have found that there are potential benefits from part-time employment
such as enhanced future employability and a reduction in the need to seek financial
assistance from other sources. Results here indicate that the possible benefits of working
are significant and experienced in some instances by the majority rather than the minority.
While those benefits, such as enhanced time-management and improved group working
skills, are more vocational than academic they may contribute to enhanced employability.
The negative effects of term-time working were less apparent in this study and related to
factors not associated with studying such as a reduction in leisure time. This was a rather
surprising finding given that several studies report time spent in employment as having
a detrimental effect on academic scores. Although this does perhaps raise a more
philosophical question as to what is the purpose of higher education and how might this
view differ between individual students?
As the UK higher education system continues to evolve in response to changes
in government policy, with further adjustments to funding mechanisms, student

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part-time employment seems likely to remain on the agenda. At the time of writing it is
unclear yet what the effects of the near tripling of tuition fees will be. It would seem
likely, however, given previous substantive changes to funding, that part-time
employment will continue to rise. However, existing studies have so far failed to
establish conclusively whether term-time employment is either a negative or a positive
feature of the higher education sector. There remains a lack of longitudinal studies that
identify how individuals respond to maintaining this juggling act of academic
commitments and employment commitments. It is possible that as a student becomes
more used to the demands of university education, then the potential negative effects of
simultaneously holding a part-time job may be reduced. On a more fundamental level
there is a need to perhaps consider how institutions respond to dealing with full-time
students for whom hours spent in the classroom take second place to hours spent in the
work place. Institutions may need to consider examining existing models of delivery so
that enhanced flexibility allows students to combine study and employment more
effectively. Even more controversially perhaps the time is coming when the concept
of the full-time student ceases to be applicable to a significant proportion of the
undergraduate student population.
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Corresponding author
David Robotham can be contacted at: drobotham@dmu.ac.uk

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