Journal of Education and Work

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The effects of doing parttime jobs on college

student academic performance and social life in a
Chinese society

Hongyu Wang , Miosi Kong , Wenjing Shan & Sou Kuan Vong

To cite this article: Hongyu Wang , Miosi Kong , Wenjing Shan & Sou Kuan Vong (2010) The
effects of doing parttime jobs on college student academic performance and social life in a
Chinese society, Journal of Education and Work, 23:1, 79-94, DOI: 10.1080/13639080903418402

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Journal of Education and Work
Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2010, 7994

The effects of doing part-time jobs on college student academic

performance and social life in a Chinese society
Hongyu Wanga*, Miosi Konga, Wenjing Shanb and Sou Kuan Vongb
a
Department of Sociology, University of Macau, Av. Padre Toms Pereira, Taipa, Macau,
China; bFaculty of Education, University of Macau, Av. Padre Toms Pereira, Taipa, Macau,
China
(Received 3 April 2009; final version received 15 October 2009)
Taylor and Francis
CJEW_A_442018.sgm

Journal
10.1080/13639080903418402
1363-9080
Original
Taylor
102010
23
Dr
HWang@umac.mo
000002010
HongyuWang
&
ofArticle
Francis
Education
(print)/1469-9435
and Work(online)

Student employment has been treated as a homogeneous category in studying the

effects of doing part-time jobs on student academic performance or social life. In
the present study, using data collected from a well-known public university in
Macau, we treat student employment as a heterogeneous experience and compare
the relative importance of various characteristics of student employment in
predicting student academic performance and social life. We find that doing part-
time jobs exerts no effect on student academic performance when it is treated as a
homogeneous category. When treated as a heterogeneous experience, we find that
incentives to work have most effects on student academic performance, followed
by whether the jobs provide opportunities for students to develop skills and
whether the jobs are related to their fields of study. Inconsistent with most
previous studies, we find that doing part-time jobs actually enriches students
school life and increases their social support network as well. We do find that
taking part-time jobs damages students relationships with their parents.
Keywords: part-time employment; higher education; Chinese society

Introduction
The proportion of college students doing part-time jobs has been increasing over time
in Great Britain (Bradley 2006; Broadbridge and Swanson 2006) and it has become
the norm for full-time students to combine study and work during the term-time
(McInnis and Hartley 2002). Some scholars attributed this dramatic increase in the
number of students taking term-time part-time jobs to the fundamental change in
the responsibility for funding college education shifting from the states to families.
The replacement of an elite education system in western societies leads to a dramatic
increase in the number of students enrolling in tertiary education. Therefore, the states
cannot afford to subsidise or fund the higher education for a much larger number of
students any more, with the result that original students grants and scholarships have
been replaced by a student loan system (Hunt, Lincoln, and Walker 2004; Humphrey
2006). Parents and students are left with no choice but to be responsible for funding
the higher education themselves.
There is no such a drastic change in the way tertiary education is funded in Macau,
since the local government has been subsidising the cost of higher education for quite

*Corresponding author. Email: Hwang@umac.mo

ISSN 1363-9080 print/ISSN 1469-9435 online

2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/13639080903418402
http://www.informaworld.com
80 H. Wang et al.

some time. Interestingly, in our study, a majority of Macau full-time college students
are taking part-time jobs and a sizable number are working at them over 30 hours per
week, even though they do not share the same monetary worries as their western coun-
terparts. In the present study, we collected detailed information on the nature and the
extent of student employment from a well-known public university in Macau to study
the effects of part-time employment on student academic performance and social life.
By including a wide range of student employment characteristics as predictors, we
can examine the relative importance of these characteristics on student academic
performance and social life.

Literature review
The impact of part-time jobs on student academic performance has been well-
established in western literature, but few works have ever studied the effects of doing
part-time jobs on student social life. In most previous studies (Ford and Bosworth
1995), student employment is treated as a homogeneous experience regardless of the
nature of part-time work and the effects of part-time jobs have been limited to the
hours and earnings of student employment. Some scholars argue that a widely drawn
employment profile is needed in order to compare the relative importance of various
characteristics of student employment on student outcome (Ford and Bosworth 1995).
This employment profile should include reasons for working, number of jobs held,
the types and the qualities of part-time jobs, whether or not the part-time job is related
to degree study and the number of hours worked (Ford and Bosworth 1995; McInnis
and Hartley 2002; Bradley 2006).
Student employment has been treated as a homogeneous category in most previous
studies. The following literature review demonstrates that instead of being homoge-
neous, student employment is quite a heterogeneous experience for all involved in the
sense that the effects of doing part-time jobs on students academic or social outcomes
vary depending on the nature and the extent of their part-time work, work intensity
and the reasons to take it.

Reasons for working

Financial necessity, supporting a lifestyle and accumulating work experience have
been cited as the most important underlying reasons for taking part-time jobs by many
students (Carney, McNeish, and McColl 2005; Oi I and Morrison 2005). Some
students go to work to socialise and to meet new people and working is deemed as a
way to maintain and enhance their social lives (Ford and Bosworth 1995; Curtis
2007).
In western societies, more than half of the students work because their families
cannot support them financially (Curtis 2007; Callender 2008). Availability of
family financial support is a major predictor of whether or not students will seek
part-time employment in western societies (Humphrey 2006). The number of
students doing part-time jobs has been increasing greatly since governments in most
western societies shifted the burden of financing higher education from states to
individuals and their families (McInnis and Hartley 2002; Metcalf 2003; Hunt,
Lincoln, and Walker 2004; Broadbridge and Swanson 2006; Darmody and Smyth
2008). Not surprisingly, the main reason for taking part-time jobs for most western
students is out of financial necessity and they work to meet their essential needs
 Journal of Education and Work 81

(Sorensen and Winn 1993; Ford and Bosworth 1995; Lucas and Lammont 1998;
Curtis and Shani 2002; Manthei and Gilmore 2005; Moreau and Leathwood 2006;
Nonis and Hudson 2006; Curtis 2007; Callender 2008). More often than not, those
who are doing part-time jobs are more likely to come from the lowest social
economic class and are more likely to be minorities (Hunt, Lincoln, and Walker
2004; Callender 2008). In other words, economically disadvantaged students are
most likely to take part-time jobs (Purcell et al. 2005) and work longer hours in
western societies (Callender 2008).
Macau college students do not share the same monetary worries since the vast
majority of students are financially supported by their families. According to Oi I and
Morrison (2005), unlike their western counterparts, the majority of Macau students
who are taking part-time jobs receive financial support from their family members or
guardians. Culturally and historically, Asian parents are expected to pay for their
childrens higher education. As a result, it is not surprising that in addition to meeting
living expenses, gaining job experience and earning extra money to spend are
cited as the major reasons for Macau students to take part-time jobs (Oi I and Morrison
2005). We speculate that different reasons for working may affect academic perfor-
mance differently. If students have to work to meet their needs, doing part-time jobs
may result in negative academic consequences. However, if students choose to do
part-time jobs in an attempt to enhance their employability upon graduation, it may
lead to positive effects on their academic performance.

Employment quality quality of work

Although some scholars acknowledge that not all part-time jobs are equivalent in
terms of their quality (Greenberger, Steinberg, and Ruggiero 1982), few studies exam-
ine whether the impact of part-time jobs on student outcome depends on the quality of
the job they are taking (Stern et al. 1990; Barling, Rogers, and Kelloway 1995).
According to the cynicism model, jobs available for students are often menial,
undesirable (Mortimer et al. 1996), involving unsocial hours (Curtis and Shani 2002),
poorly paid, low skilled, insecure with high turnover rates (Broadbridge and Swanson
2006), and they are most likely to be found in sales and service occupations (Hunt,
Lincoln, and Walker 2004; Neill et al. 2004). These jobs do not require much respon-
sibility and provide few chances for students to work cooperatively (Greenberger and
Steinberg 1986). Apparently, the majority of students generally work in such low
quality jobs.
One study finds that the quality of students part-time jobs is associated with their
school performance (Barling, Rogers, and Kelloway 1995). Part-time jobs could be
beneficial academically only if they offer opportunities for students to develop new
skills and learn new knowledge (Mortimer et al. 1991) or they are related to students
fields of study (Sorensen and Winn 1993). Unfortunately, most of the jobs students do
are low quality and not related to their studies (Ford and Bosworth 1995; Pickering
and Watts 2000; McInnis and Hartley 2002; Watts 2002; Hunt, Lincoln, and Walker
2004).

Employment quantity work intensity

According to the results from most previous studies in western societies, the average
number of hours worked per week by full-time students during term-time typically
82 H. Wang et al.

falls within the range of 1216 hours (Lucas and Lammont 1998; Curtis and Shani
2002; McInnis and Hartley 2002; Hunt, Lincoln, and Walker 2004; Neill et al. 2004).
It is well-documented that the number of working hours is negatively associated with
school performance and school experience (Ford and Bosworth 1995; Curtis and
Shani 2002; Carney, McNeish, and McColl 2005). The threshold model suggests that
the effect of the number of working hours on student outcome is not linear given that
there is a threshold beyond which negative effects will occur and below which posi-
tive effects will ensue (Greenberger and Steinberg 1986; Marsh 1991; Schoenhals,
Tienda, and Schneider 1998; Warren, LePore, and Mare 2000). What constitutes the
threshold varies in the previous literature. Some scholars suggest that 20 hours a week
could be the threshold beyond which the negative consequences of students term-
time part-time employment set in (Greenberger and Steinberg 1986; Barling, Rogers,
and Kelloway 1995).

The effects of doing part-time jobs on student academic performance

According to Colemans (1959, 1961) zero-sum time-allocation model, time spent on
working may lead to reduced time spent on studying, school activities and gathering
with family members and friends. As a result, doing part-time jobs may exert negative
effects on student academic performance and social life.
The findings on the impact of part-time jobs on student academic performance are
inconsistent in previous studies. Some scholars find positive effects of term-time
employment on student academic performance (Hammes and Haller 1983), especially
when the part-time jobs are perceived by the students as relevant to their course of
study (Sorensen and Winn 1993). Other studies suggest that working on campus or
working a limited number of hours (under 10 or 15 hours) actually may enhance
students grades and degree completion (Horn and Berkhold 1998; King 2002;
Manthei and Gilmore 2005).
Meanwhile, many more studies report negative academic effects of student
employment during term-time (Paton-Saltzberg and Lindsay 1993; Sorensen and
Winn 1993; Ford and Bosworth 1995; Singh 1998; Curtis and Shani 2002; McInnis,
and Hartley 2002; Metcalf 2003; Hunt, Lincoln, and Walker 2004; Moreau and
Leathwood 2006; Curtis 2007; Callender 2008). Those negative effects are manifested
in the form of spending less time on studying (Oi I and Morrison 2005), being late for
classes (Metcalf 2003; Curtis 2007), missing classes (Ford and Bosworth 1995; Curtis
and Shani 2002; Curtis 2007), having difficulty concentrating in classes (Pickering
and Watts 2000), feeling tired (Broadbridge and Swanson 2006; Curtis 2007;
Callender 2008), making less use of school facilities such as libraries and computer
labs (Metcalf 2003; Van Dyke, Little, and Callender 2005) and lowering grades
(Singh 1998; Curtis and Shani 2002; Hunt, Lincoln, and Walker 2004).
Lastly, some other scholars find that doing part-time jobs exerts no effect on
student academic performance (Schoenhals, Tienda, and Schneider 1998; Nonis and
Hudson 2006).

The effects of doing part-time jobs on student social life

Student social life such as school life, family life and interaction with friends,
colleagues and acquaintances is also affected by taking part-time jobs. Not many
studies emphasise the impact of part-time jobs on student social life, and for those that
 Journal of Education and Work 83

do, they yield contradictory findings. Some show that term-time work enhances
student social life (Ford and Bosworth 1995; Lucas and Lammont 1998), while others
find the opposite (Taylor and Smith 1998; Metcalf 2003; Oi I and Morrison 2005; Van
Dyke, Little, and Callender 2005).
Firstly, we review the impact of part-time jobs on students school life. Some
scholars argue that part-time employment deprives students of a full university expe-
rience (Curtis 2007) in the sense that working students are significantly less likely to
participate in extracurricular activities (DAmico 1984; Taylor and Smith 1998;
Warren 2002), university societies (Humphrey 2006), volunteering (Silver and Silver
1997) and sporting activities (Humphrey and McCarthy 1998; Humphrey 2006). As a
result, working students are deprived of the chance to add to the cultural and social
capital they can accrue through participating in extracurricular activities (Humphrey
2006). In sum, most findings related to the impact of part-time jobs on school life are
in line with the prediction drawn from Colemans zero-sum time-allocation theory
given that employed students are spending less time in school than their non-
employed counterparts.
Secondly, we review the effects of doing part-time jobs on students family life.
Few studies have examined the relationship between student employment and family
relationships. One study finds that parents usually support their children in the deci-
sion to take term-time employment (Mortimer et al. 1991), and no evidence is found
that students term-time employment detracts from close family relationships
(Mortimer and Shanahan 1991). But others find that taking part-time jobs during term-
time can leave less time spent with family members (Van Dyke, Little, and Callender
2005).
Lastly, we review the effects of student employment on their social life outside the
domain of families and schools. Some studies examine the interpersonal relationship
at work (Greenberger, Steinberg, and Ruggiero 1982) and find that the workplace is
rarely a place where close relationships are fostered for working students. However,
high quality jobs that offer working students positive experience may lead to the
development of closer relationships with colleagues (Mortimer and Shanahan 1991).
Not surprisingly, those students with positive work experience report the workplace
as a source of satisfaction (Ford and Bosworth 1995). And many students indeed
report that the workplace provides an additional dimension to their social lives
(Hodgson and Spours 2000), a place where they can meet new people and enjoy good
sociability (Curtis 2007).
As far as we know, none of the previous studies ever examined the effects of
student employment on the nature and the extent of their social support network. In
the present study, we explore the relationship between student employment and the
diversity of students social support network.

Methodology
Sample
We administered a questionnaire survey to a random sample of 323 third-year
students from five different faculties in one of the well-known universities in
Macau. Out of these 323 students, 22% are from the Business School, 14% from the
School of Education, 7% from the School of Law, 35% from the School of Humani-
ties and Social Sciences and 23% from the School of Science and Technology
84 H. Wang et al.

(101% due to rounding error). In our sample, 87% of students are doing at least one
part-time job.

Methods
Descriptive analysis provides detailed information on the various characteristics of
student employment in Macau. Both logistic and linear regression models are applied
to examine the effects of various characteristics of student employment on their
academic performance and social life depending on the nature of the dependent vari-
able. A linear regression model is applied if the dependent variable is continuous and
a logistic model is applied if the dependent variable is dichotomous.

Measurement
Dependent variables
Academic performance has three components: GPA, active learning experience and
problematic school behaviour. Students GPA is self-evident. Active learning experi-
ence is measured by asking students whether they pay attention to lectures, how much
time they spend before class doing the required readings or studying for exams. The
Cronbach Coefficient Alpha for this scale is 0.64. Problematic school behaviour is
measured by taking the mean of four items asking respondents whether or not they are
often late for classes, skip classes with or without a reason or fall asleep in class. The
Cronbach Coefficient Alpha for this scale is 0.65. Both objective grades and
subjective learning experience and school behaviour are used to measure academic
performance in this study.
Social life consists of school life, family relationships and social support network.
School life is measured by asking students whether they join any school associations
and clubs; participate in any extracurricular activities or do any voluntary work in
school. Family relationships are measured by asking the students how close they feel
to their mothers or fathers. Students social support network is measured by asking
students to select people with whom they can share happiness or sadness from a list
of categories including parents, siblings, lovers, classmates, colleagues, friends and
others, with a large number indicating that their social support networks are more
diversified. We assume that a diversified and heterogeneous social network is good for
students instrumentally and expressively.

Independent variables
Doing part-time job or not is coded 1 if students are employed during term-time,
summer or both and 0 otherwise. This measure treats doing part-time jobs as a homo-
geneous category.
Reasons for working is measured by asking students to report the main reasons for
taking part-time jobs, including financial necessity, peer influence, acquiring work
experience, out of boredom, sustaining a lifestyle or others.
Characteristics of employment: number of jobs held, number of hours worked,
place of work and whether the job is related to their fields of study are self-evident.
The quality of the job is measured by asking students whether they can learn new
things from their work. Types of job are measured by asking students directly what
 Journal of Education and Work 85

kind of jobs they take. The job is coded 1 as high quality if the type of job requires
high skills and 0 otherwise.

Control variables
A set of demographic variables such as gender, social economic backgrounds, and
variables that are deemed to be related to both student academic performance and social
life such as parental involvement, sense of belonging and school integration are also
included in our analysis as control variables. The addition of these control variables is
necessary to make sure that the associations between doing part-time jobs and its
academic and social consequences are not spurious. Students social economic back-
grounds are measured by their fathers level of education, occupation and family
income. Parental involvements is measured by asking students whether their parents
check their grades or homework regularly, make sure that they are not late for school
and discuss what happens in school with them. Sense of belonging is measured by
asking students how close they feel to teachers and classmates in school, or whether
they feel that they are part of the school. School integration is measured by asking
students how often they join university societies or clubs and how often they participate
in extracurricular activities or volunteer in schools.

Findings
Descriptive information on the nature and the extent of student employment in
Macau
In contrast to most western students who work out of a need to supplement their
student loans, the majority of Macau students work to acquire work experience (57%)
or sustain a lifestyle (47%). Only 13% report that they work out of financial necessity.
A sizable number (34%) report that they work out of boredom or under peer influence
(20%). In other words, most Macau students choose to work for reasons other than
financial necessity.
When compared to their counterparts in western societies, Macau students are not
working more hours. They work 15 hours per week on average and they work 1.6 jobs
per person. Close to half of the students (47%) report that their jobs are related to their
fields of study and a third report that their jobs provide them opportunities to acquire
knowledge and develop skills. Twenty-eight percent of them are doing jobs that are
quite challenging. Eight percent are working on campus and 42% are working far
away from home or school.

The effects of doing part-time jobs on student academic performance

Student academic performance is indicated by their GPA; active learning experience
and problematic school behaviour. When doing part-time jobs is treated as a homog-
enous category, we find no effect on students GPAs, active learning experience or
problematic school behaviour net of the confounding effects (referring to Model 1 in
Table 1).
In Model 2 of Table 1, assuming doing part-time job is a heterogeneous experience
for all involved, we enter a set of various characteristics of student employment into
the model including reasons for working, hours worked, employment quality and
Table 1. Regression analysis of the effects of doing part-time jobs on students academic performance.
86

GPA Active learning experience Problematic school behaviour

Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
B Beta B Beta B Beta B Beta B Beta B Beta
Independent variable
H. Wang et al.

Doing part-time or not 0.27 0.09 0.15 0.1 0.15 0.1

Reasons for working
Financial necessity 0.29 0.1 0.13 0.09 0.06 0.04
Peer influence 0.01 0.1 0.01 0.01 0.13 0.1
Acquiring working experience 0.39 0.18 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.03
Boredom 0.11 0.05 0.14 0.14 0.12 0.12
Sustaining a lifestyle 0.22 0.11 0.06 0.06 0.12 0.11
Characteristics of work
Part-time relevant to the field of study 0.27 0.14 0.11 0.11 0.09 0.09
Provide opportunity to learn new stuff 0.3 0.15 0.12 0.12 0.08 0.08
High quality job 0.06 0.03 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.07
Number of part-time jobs held 0.05 0.06 0.02 0.06 0 0
Number of hours worked 0.01 0.12 0 0.05 0 0.06
Working on campus 0.01 0 0.1 0.06 0 0
Control variables
Female 0.31 0.15 0.19 0.1 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.21 0.2 0.2 0.2
Fathers education 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.14 0.03 0.07 0.05 0.11 0.02 0.05 0.03 0.06
Fathers occupation 0.16 0.15 0.13 0.12 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.05 0.09 0.03 0.05
Family income 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.06 0 0.01 0 0 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.06
Parental involvement 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.16 0.22 0.15 0.23 0.07 0.1 0.05 0.08
Sense of belonging 0.28 0.15 0.24 0.13 0.29 0.3 0.25 0.26 0 0 0.06 0.06
School integration 0.06 0.1 0 0.01 0 0.02 0.03 0.11 0.01 0.04 0.03 0.1
Notes: B raw regression coefficients; Beta standardized regression coefficients; bold fonts denote statistical significance at 0.05 level; bold and italic fonts denote
statistical significance at 0.10 level.
 Journal of Education and Work 87

other characteristics of employment in an attempt to compare the relative importance

of various characteristics of student employment in predicting student academic
performance.
Regarding students GPA, it is increased by 0.39 point if students take part-time
jobs in order to acquire work experience, by 0.27 point if the part-time job is related
to their fields of study and by 0.30 point if the part-time job provides opportunities for
them to acquire knowledge and develop skills. Students GPA is reduced by 0.01 point
for each additional hour worked. These results are reached after we account for the
confounding effects. The relative importance of various characteristics of student
employment in predicting GPA can be drawn based on comparing their corresponding
standardised coefficient estimates (Beta coefficients). According to the Beta coeffi-
cients, acquiring work experience ( = 0.18) is most important in predicting students
GPA, followed by whether the job provides opportunities for learning ( = 0.15),
whether the job is relevant to their fields of study ( = 0.14) and the number of hours
worked ( = 0.12).
Regarding students active learning experience, we find that 0.14 point is
deducted from the scale if the students take part-time jobs out of boredom. On the
other hand, 0.11 and 0.12 points are added to the scale respectively if the part-time
job is related to their field of study or it provides opportunities for students to
acquire knowledge and develop skills. These results are net of the confounding
effects. In other words, working out of boredom is negatively associated with active
learning experience while doing either high quality part-time jobs or course-related
jobs is positively related with active learning experience. Once again, the Beta coef-
ficients can be used to compare the relative importance of various characteristics of
student employment on active learning experience. The results show that working
out of boredom ( = 0.14) is most important in predicting students active learning
experience, followed by whether the jobs provide learning opportunities ( = 0.12)
or whether the job is course-related ( = 0.11).
Regarding the problematic school behaviour, we find that 0.12 point is added to
this scale if the students are doing part-time jobs out of boredom net of the confound-
ing effects. In other words, students are more likely to exhibit problematic school
behaviours if they do part-time jobs out of boredom. The other characteristics of
student employment exert no effects on problematic school behaviour.
In sum, we find that doing part-time jobs is not a homogeneous experience for all
students in the sense that employed students work for different reasons, on different
jobs and with different intensity. Reasons for working predict student academic
performance better than any other characteristics of student employment. Since Asian
parents are expected to fund their childrens higher education, the majority of Macau
college students have not taken part-time jobs out of necessity. As a result, they have
wide latitude to choose a part-time job that is related to their fields of study. According
to previous studies, doing course-related part-time jobs brings positive effects on
student academic performance. That may explain why doing part-time jobs in Macau
brings academic benefits to students.

The effects of doing part-time jobs on student social life

We examine whether doing part-time jobs affects student social life in schools, fami-
lies and workplaces. Firstly, a logistic regression is applied to analyse whether doing
part-time jobs affects school integration. School integration is indicated by whether
88 H. Wang et al.

Table 2. Logistic regression on the effects of dong part-time jobs on students school life.
Extracurricular activity
Join university organisations participation
Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Independent variable
Doing part-time or not 0.69 (2.00) 0.12(1.13)
Reasons for working
Financial necessity 0.43 (0.65) 0.25 (0.78)
Peer influence 0.56(1.77) 0(1)
Acquiring working experience 0.06(1.06) 0.81 (0.44)
Boredom 0.50 (0.60) 0.52 (0.59)
Sustaining a lifestyle 0.01(1.01) 0.09(1.09)
Characteristics of work
Part-time relevant to field of 0.55(1.70) 0.31(1.37)
study
Provide opportunity to learn 0.22(1.24) 0.41 (0.66)
new stuff
High Quality Job 0.14(1.15) 0.16(1.18)
Number of part-time jobs held 0(1) 0.02 (0.98)
Number of hours worked 0.03 (0.97) 0.02 (0.98)
Working on campus 0.56(1.75) 0.99(2.69)
Control variables
Female 0.24 (0.78) 0.5 (0.61) 0.12 (0.89) 0.12 (0.89)
Fathers education 0.4(1.49) 0.35(1.42) 0.04(1.05) 0.04 (0.97)
Fathers occupation 0.1 (0.9) 0.19 (0.82) 0.04(1.04) 0.04(1.04)
Family income 0.16 (0.85) 0.27 (0.76) 0.05 (0.95) 0.18 (0.84)
Parental involvement 0.02 (0.98) 0.16 (0.86) 0.24(1.27) 0.24(1.27)
Sense of belonging 0.41(1.5) 0.28(1.33) 0.4(1.49) 0.36(1.43)
Notes: Bold fonts denote statistical significance at 0.05 level; bold and italic fonts denote statistical
significance at 0.10 level; numbers in brackets are odd ratios.

students attend university societies, clubs and organisations or whether they

participate in extracurricular activities. When doing part-time jobs is treated as a
homogeneous category, we find that employed students are two times [exp(0.69)]
more likely to join school associations than their non-employed counterparts, even
after we control for the confounding effects. Most previous studies find that
employed students are less likely to join school associations or participate in extra-
curricular activities (referring to Model 1 in Table 2) (Silver and Silver 1997;
Humphrey and McCarthy 1998; Taylor and Smith 1998; Humphrey 2006; Curtis
2007).
In Model 2 of Table 2, we examine the effects of various characteristics of student
employment on the likelihood of joining university associations or participating in
extracurricular activities while accounting for the confounding effects. We find that
employed students are 40% [exp(0.5)] less likely to join associations if they work out
of boredom, and each additional hour worked leads to a 3% [exp(0.03)] reduction of
 Journal of Education and Work 89

the odds of joining associations. Interestingly, we find that employed students are 1.7
times [exp(0.55)] more likely to join university associations if their employment is
related to their field of study net of confounding effects. In sum, doing part-time jobs
relevant to their studies and working a limited number of hours actually enhance
students likelihood to join associations in school. Furthermore, employed students are
45% [exp(0.81)] less likely to participate in extracurricular activities if they work to
acquire work experience and they are 2.7 times [exp(0.97)] more likely to participate
in extracurricular activities if they work on campus. In contrast with the predictions
drawn from Colemans zero-sum time-allocation theory, we find that doing part-time
jobs, especially those related to their field of study actually enhances students school
life. Instead of depriving students of a full university experience, doing course-related
part-time jobs provides opportunities for students to develop transferable skills, the
acquisition of which makes them less intimidated to join other extracurricular
activities.
Secondly, we examine the effects of doing part-time jobs on students family rela-
tionships. According to Colemans zero-sum time-allocation theory, time spent on
doing part-time jobs reduces the time spent with family members, which, in turn, is
crucial to the formation of close relationships within the family. In line with the
prediction of time-allocation theory, we find that employed students feel 0.4 point less
close to their mothers and 0.54 point less close to their fathers than their non-
employed counterparts net of the confounding effects when student employment is
treated as a homogeneous category (referring to Table 3). Interestingly, we find that
various characteristics of student employment exert no effects on students relation-
ship with their mothers. But employed students feel less close to their fathers (0.54)
if they work out of financial necessity than those working for other reasons. The
employed students feel closer to their mothers (0.21) if their families support them in
their decision to work than their counterparts who lack the support from their families.
Contrary to this relationship with mothers, the employed students relationships with
their fathers are not improved even if their decisions to work receive support from
their families. In other words, family support in students decision to work buffers the
negative effects caused by doing part-time jobs on students relationships with their
mothers but not with their fathers. In sum, doing part-time jobs certainly has negative
consequences on students relationships with their parents and various characteristics
of student employment cannot buffer the negative effects of doing part-time jobs on
family relationships. Relationship with fathers will be especially damaged if the
students have to work out of financial necessity since in Asian society, parents, espe-
cially fathers, are supposed to provide financial support for their childrens higher
education. Failure to live up to this cultural expectation would poison the relationships
between fathers and their children.
Lastly, we apply multiple regression analyses to examine the effects of doing part-
time jobs on students social support network. When treated as a homogeneous cate-
gory, we find that doing part-time jobs increases the diversity of students social
support network by 0.54 point. When treating student employment as a heterogeneous
experience, we find that the students social support network is increased by 0.36 or
0.37 point respectively if the students take part-time jobs to acquire work experience
or to sustain a lifestyle (referring to Table 4). Interestingly, we find that with each
additional job held or additional hour worked, the students social support network is
reduced by 0.13 point and 0.01 point, respectively. All these conclusions are drawn
after accounting for the confounding effects. In sum, we find that doing part-time jobs
Table 3. Regression analysis of the effects of doing part-time jobs on students family relationships.
90

Close to mother Close to father

Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
B Beta B Beta B Beta B Beta
Independent variable
H. Wang et al.

Doing part-time or not 0.4 0.15 0.54 0.19

Reasons for working
Financial necessity 0.03 0.01 0.59 0.22
Peer influence 0.07 0.04 0 0
Acquiring working experience 0.1 0.06 0.22 0.11
Boredom 0.07 0.04 0.06 0.03
Sustaining a lifestyle 0.15 0.08 0.14 0.07
Characteristics of work
Part-time relevant to field of study 0.12 0.07 0.13 0.07
Provide opportunity to learn new stuff 0.09 0.05 0.01 0
High quality job 0.06 0.03 0.22 0.11
Number of part-time jobs held 0.05 0.07 0.02 0.03
Number of hours worked 0 0.07 0 0.01
Working on campus 0.2 0.06 0.02 0.01
Control variables
Female 0.18 0.1 0.14 0.08 0.17 0.09 0.16 0.08
Fathers education 0.04 0.05 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.06 0.08 0.1
Fathers occupation 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.06
Family income 0 0 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Parental involvement 0.1 0.8 0.14 0.12 0.18 0.14 0.23 0.19
Sense of belonging 0.21 0.13 0.12 0.08 0.16 0.09 0.26 0.14
School integration 0.04 0.08 0.04 0.08 0.04 0.07 0.03 0.05
Family support in doing part-time 0.14 0.08 0.23 0.13 0.07 0.04 0.2 0.1
Part-time has no influence on family life 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.08 0.08
Notes: B raw regression coefficients; Beta standardized regression coefficients; bold fonts denote statistical significance at 0.05 level; bold and italic fonts denote statistical
significance at 0.10 level.
 Journal of Education and Work 91

Table 4. Regression analysis of the effects of doing part-time jobs on students social support
network.
Social support network
Model 1 Model 2
B Beta B Beta
Independent variable
Doing part-time or not 0.54 0.14
Reasons for working
Financial necessity 0.04 0.01
Peer influence 0.11 0.04
Acquiring working experience 0.36 0.13
Boredom 0.06 0.02
Sustaining a lifestyle 0.37 0.14
Characteristics of work
Part-time relevant to field of study 0.17 0.07
Provide opportunity to learn new stuff 0.03 0.01
High quality job 0.01 0
Number of part-time jobs held 0.13 0.14
Number of hours worked 0.01 0.13
Working far away from school and home 0.04 0.02
Control variables
Female 0.3 0.12 0.35 0.14
Fathers education 0.04 0.04 0.07 0.06
Fathers occupation 0 0 0.04 0.03
Family income 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06
Parental involvement 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01
Sense of belonging 0.51 0.21 0.38 0.16
Social integration 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02
Notes: B raw regression coefficients; Beta standardized regression coefficients; bold fonts denote
statistical significance at 0.05 level; bold and italic fonts denote statistical significance at 0.10 level.

exerts positive effects on the diversity of students social support networks, especially
when students are not doing multiple part-time jobs or working too many hours. Also
if the reasons for working are financial necessity, sustaining a lifestyle or peer influ-
ence, it will expand students social support network. In other words, employed
students have more people available to share their happiness or sadness than their non-
employed counterparts. Apparently, inconsistent with some previous studies,
employed students can develop meaningful relationships with their colleagues in the
workplace. In-depth interviews are needed in order to flesh out the reasoning behind
this finding.
In sum, we find that doing part-time jobs exerts positive effects on student social
life in schools and workplaces but negative effects on families. Doing part-time jobs
enlarges students social support network and makes them join school associations at
higher rates than their non-employed counterparts. But, doing part-time jobs damages
92 H. Wang et al.

students relationships with their parents, especially when students are taking part-
time jobs out of financial necessity.

Conclusions
We find no relationship between doing part-time jobs and student academic perfor-
mance if student employment is treated as a homogenous category. We do find that
doing part-time jobs can enrich students school life, enlarge their social support
network, but damage their family relationships when doing part-time jobs is treated
as a homogeneous category. When student employment is treated as a heteroge-
neous experience, we find that doing challenging or course-related part-time jobs
both increases students GPA and improves their learning attitudes. On the other
hand, working long hours reduces students GPA but does not necessarily affect
their learning attitudes or school behaviour. When compared to other various char-
acteristics of student employment, incentives to work have most effect on students
GPA. In sum, we find that doing part-time jobs exerts no effect on student
academic performance if it is treated as a homogeneous category. Some characteris-
tics of student employment lead to positive academic consequences but others to
negative ones. We argue that most contradictory previous findings related to the
academic consequences of doing part-time jobs could be attributed to whether
doing part-time jobs is treated as a homogenous or a heterogeneous experience or
which characteristic of student employment is emphasised to predict their academic
performance.
Inconsistent with most previous studies, we find that working students are more
likely to join school associations than their unemployed counterparts, especially when
their part-time jobs are related to their fields of study. According to previous studies,
students learn critical skills while taking course-related part-time jobs, the skill they
developed in doing high-quality part-time jobs are also used to participate in other
extracurricular activities. The same students are also more likely to participate in
extracurricular activities if they work on campus.
In addition to enriching students school life, doing part-time jobs also enlarges
their social support networks. Apparently students can develop some meaningful rela-
tionship in the workplace, especially when they are taking high-quality part-time jobs.
Lastly, contrary to Mortimer and Shanahan (1991)s findings, we find that doing
part-time jobs damages students relationship with their parents. Working students
feel less close to their parents even if they themselves benefit academically and
socially by taking part-time jobs. Working students relationship with their mothers is
not affected if the families support their decisions to work. In-depth interviews are
called to flesh out the reasoning behind these findings.

Notes on contributors
Hongyu Wang is assistant professor of Sociology at the University of Macau.

Miosi Kong is an undergraduate student of Sociology at the University of Macau.

Wenjing Shan is professor of the Faculty of Education at the University of Macau.

Sou Kuan Vong is associate professor of the Faculty of Education at the University of Macau.
 Journal of Education and Work 93

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