Workplaces need employees, and teens are filling that need while they balance school work and work as employees.
Junior Paul Pesek, a shelf stocker at the Nixa Walmart, took the job for the money.
“I have been working at Walmart since January of this year,” Pesek said. “I got a job so I could eventually buy a car. I make $14 an hour, which is not terrible. The only way I could get a raise is if I went full time or if the whole store got a raise.”
Pesek has found it difficult to both attend school and work at times.
“Getting homework on time during the school week can be pretty difficult,” Pesek said. “I do all my school work on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays because those are days that I don’t usually work. Then I also have the weekends. That sounds like it’s a lot of time but it really isn’t.”
Senior Caleb Craig has a similar yet different experience with having a job and attending school.
“I work at Domino’s here in Nixa,” Craig said. “I do everything there except drive; … I work the register, the oven, drive-through and make the pizzas. I have been working there for around a year and two months now.”
When school is in session, a student is limited to 20 work hours but 40 hours when school is not in session. This has been an issue for Craig.
“I work four days a week but can only work two to three hours a day,” Craig said. “When I go to work, I want to work. My work right now just becomes more of a waste of time and a waste of gas. It is also more of an inconvenience when I have homework.”
For the few hours he does work, Craig said he finds it difficult to get school work done.
“Every time I need to get something done or if I am behind on something I have to call in,” Craig said. “Calling in to take off work is a real hassle because then I may have to work the day I normally don’t or I get paid significantly less.”
In the post-pandemic world, businesses nationwide have had problems with workforce shortages. To help alleviate this, businesses may turn to hiring more students rather than qualified adults, according to Chamber of Commerce CEO Whitney Guison.
“Right now it seems more difficult than a couple of years ago when it comes to hiring qualified professionals,” Guison said. “If you are a company who needs minimum wage workers, teens are perfect. They have no experience and you are able to train them into any position. But if there is any specific skill you are hiring for and paying for, teens are hard because they would not be very long term. Regardless, I think a lot of business owners are willing to work with teens as long as the teen is a hard worker. It helps develop the workforce.”
Smaller businesses have a harder time competing with bigger businesses, even without the labor shortage.
“It’s not easy competing with larger businesses if you are small,” Guison said. “I think the best thing you can do is get plugged into your community. People want to support small businesses, but they don’t always know about them or feel that they are convenient. Those are challenges small businesses need to be ready to overcome.”
Guison offers advice to students who are debating getting a job.
“Go get one – If you try just a little, you can find a job right now,” Guison said. “Working in the trenches of minimum wage is such an important experience; working with a team and a supervisor. Learning how to be corrected in the setting is all invaluable to future careers, whatever they may be.”