Program in Social Ecology, University of California, 92717, Irvine, California.
J Youth Adolesc. 1981 Jun;10(3):185-210. doi: 10.1007/BF02088970.
A number of respected social critics, including the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC), have recommended the earlier integration of adolescents into the workplace. The PSAC Panel on Youth (1973) claims that work settings provide opportunities for developing and exercising personal responsibility, taking responsibility for the welfare of others, and establishing more extensive instrumental and social relations with nonfamilial adults. This study of "naturally occurring" employment among high school students examines these claims about the nature of the workplace. Drawing on interview, questionnaire, and observational data, we argue that the PSAC's expectations are somewhat optimistic. With respect to personal responsibility taking, although many adolescent workers have opportunities for self-management and report performing assigned tasks dependably, very few report going "beyond the call of duty." With respect to social responsibility, workers experience only modest levels of task interdependence and centrality to a team effort; yet substantial numbers of adolescent workers feel that their work serves a socially useful purpose. Finally, with respect to intergenerational contact, the workplace fails to induce meaningful interaction with adults. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that if the workplace is to become a truly vital context for adolescent socialization, it needs to be designed more deliberately with such aims in mind.
一些备受尊敬的社会评论家，包括总统科学顾问委员会（PSAC），建议青少年更早地进入职场。PSAC 青年问题小组（1973 年）声称，工作环境提供了发展和锻炼个人责任感、对他人的福利负责以及与非家庭成人建立更广泛的工具和社会关系的机会。这项对高中生“自然发生”就业的研究检验了这些关于工作场所性质的说法。本研究通过访谈、问卷调查和观察数据，认为 PSAC 的期望有些过于乐观。就个人责任感而言，尽管许多青少年工人有自我管理的机会，并报告可靠地完成指定任务，但很少有人报告“超越职责范围”。就社会责任而言，工人只经历适度的任务相互依存和对团队努力的核心作用；然而，相当多的青少年工人认为他们的工作具有社会有用性。最后，就代际接触而言，工作场所未能诱导与成年人进行有意义的互动。综上所述，这项研究的结果表明，如果工作场所要成为青少年社会化的真正重要环境，就需要更有针对性地设计，以实现这些目标。
