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Effects of Student Employment and its Correlation to the Academic Performance of

the Universidad de Manila Psychology Students

Agtoca, Mejamie O.

Amante, Angelica Joy L.

Astrologo, Aira Abrielle C.

Bulaon, Aubrey Anne M.

Cabalida, Jannel Angela V.

Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Universidad de Manila

PSY 323: Strategic Human Resource Management

Prof. Domingo O. Barcarse, RPm, RPsy, LPT

May 14, 2021

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Chapter I

The Problem and It’s Background

In today's world, where one's educational attainment serves as a reference to what

job they should get and how much they should pay. Every individual, especially in

democratic countries were given a right to education. In relation to that, According to

Rubiano (2016), the right to education is a fundamental human right that everyone should

have, whereas the government provides free education at different levels to achieve

education for all. However, despite the privileged of free education, many students,

which vastly belong to the poverty line, work while studying to aid their struggle to pay

their miscellaneous fees and provide their daily expenses, particularly those who are self-

supporting.

In line with that, Hovdhaugen (2013) asserts that financial problems are the

common reason to work. Student employment is a prevalent practice in the Philippines,

where juggling academic studies and work is challenging. The time management for

working students is undeniably different compare to the non-working students. Because

working students are required to manage their time in balancing and maintaining a job

and achieving good grades while non-working students have plenty of time to study,

quality time with family and friends, and even do other recreational activities. Aside from

work and study, some working students also have duties inside their home, such as doing

household chores. Matriano (2021) concluded that working students have time for

themselves but sometimes compromise quality time with their family or friends due to

pressure in work or other work-related issues.

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Being a student employee is equivalent to receiving multiple items with only two

hands. It consumes the time of the whole day, and it physically and mentally drained the

students. Today's college students face a complex set of dilemmas about whether to

attend, where to attend, how to pay, how much to work, how many jobs to take, how to

balance these competing priorities while in school (Tungao, 2016). Aside from typical

job positions like student assistants, they are commonly seen working in various sectors

such as food service, sales, and entertainment. The demand for online jobs is timely

because it can accommodate students who have devices and internet connections at

home. These include freelance writing, encoding, blogging, and mostly for subject

tutoring, which is much convenient to work on along with work-from-home setup and

cost-efficient.

Due to the pandemic, it's almost a year since online classes began, and these

students needed to double their effort to graduate on time despite all the hardship. Many

students decided to apply or get a job to support and continue their studies since many

parents could not afford to send their children to universities; other ways are available to

pursue a bachelor's degree. Based on studies, employment while studying on students can

have negative consequences on their academic performance still, other studies show that

there is no significant effect between the variables. In contrast, Humphrey (as cited by

Hovdhaugen, 2013) found that students with part-time jobs receive lower grades, on

average, than students who do not work. Other studies have found that the concern that

work might interfere with studies or reduce grades is the most commonly given reason

for not working (Lucas and Lammont, 1998). Academic performance is the basis of

measurement on how well the students perform throughout the academic year. From the
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active class participation to quizzes, activities, and exams, most importantly, how

consistent the student's attendance is.

This study aims to determine the relationship between student employment and

the academic performance of college students in Universidad de Manila. Previous studies

on college students have shown that the college years are stressful due to many life

challenges that may include missing their loved ones, academic pressure, financial worry,

and involvement in part-time jobs (Kwadzo, 2014, as cited in Rochford et al., 2009;

Schroeder, 2004).

In the Philippines, Universidad de Manila (UDM) is one of the public schools that

provide free quality tertiary education for the poor but deserving students. The

researchers want to understand the experienced of these college students' situation of how

their employment affects their academic performance, especially during the pandemic.

Nowadays, amidst the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, working students' academic

performance is an intriguing topic to study since adjusting to the new normal.

Theoretical Foundation

Primary Orientation Theory of John Robert Warren

An alternative explanation for the non-positive association between (hours of)

student work and educational performance was brought forward by Warren's (2002)

primary orientation theory. It suggests that this association is driven by socio-

psychological factors rather than by resource allocation. More concretely, Warren (2002)

argues that student employment is mainly detrimental for students with a primary

orientation toward work (in contrast to students with a primary orientation toward school,
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who do not let their studies suffer from their employment). Combining this starting point

with the assumed higher working hours among these work-oriented students, this theory

predicts that failing to control for students' primary orientation biases affects student

employment on academic performance downwards (i.e., more negative).

Human Capital Theory of Gary Becker

According to Human Capital Theory (Becker, 1964), student employment can

complement education due to the additional skills and knowledge obtained while

working. There are several reasons why student work may lead to such an increase in

human capital. First, student employment enables the acquisition of new general and

transferable skills such as work values, communication skills, and a sense of time

management (Buscha, Maurel, Page, & Speckesser, 2012; Rothstein, 2007; Staff &

Mortimer, 2007). Second, combining study and work may offer students the opportunity

to apply in practice what they have learned in school (Geel & Backes-Gellner, 2012;

Hotz et al., 2002). Third, student employment may increase future-orientedness and

motivate students to work harder in school to achieve a specific career goal (Oettinger,

1999; Rothstein, 2007).

Allocation of Time Theory of Gary Becker

Also labeled as the "Zero-Sum Model," this theoretical perspective predicts

detrimental consequences for children's educational outcomes. It is argued that student

employment strongly constrains students' use of time: time spent working for crowds out

time spent on activities that enhance academic performance (e.g., studying, doing

homework, and attending classes; Bozick, 2007; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2009; 2012).
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As the reduced time spent on the latter activities subsequently worsens academic

performance (Arulampalam, Naylor, & Smith, 2012; Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner,

2004; 2008), student employment may have a detrimental effect on educational

attainment. However, spending one hour more on student work does not necessarily

translate into spending one hour on lesson study activities (Triventi, 2014). In other

words, student workers may cut back on leisure time without reducing the time they

dedicate to school-related activities (much). Indeed, Kalenkoski and Pabilonia (2009;

2012), Schoenhals, Tienda, and Schneider (1998), and Warren (2002) find that time spent

working does not reduce the time spent on school-related activities in a one-to-one

relationship. Working students also scale down the time spent on non-school-related

activities (e.g., time spent with family or friends and time spent watching television or in

front of a computer).

Moral Responsibility Theory of P.F. Strawson

The Moral Responsibility Theory of P.F. Strawson, published in 1962, presents

the consequences of each action in the pros and cons result. It can be defined in

Philosophy as the status of morally worthy praise, reward, blame, or punishment for an

act performed or neglected by one's moral obligations accompanied by the three essential

elements: accountability, freedom, and results that can be either praiseworthy or

blameworthy. This theory shapes the pros and cons of the life experiences of working

students. As indicated by Watts and Pickering (2000), working part-time and studying

full-time has various positive outcomes, and respondents generally viewed part-time

employment as a necessity to survive in the contemporary higher education sphere.

However, the student might experience pressure due to demands in academics such as
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completing the tasks in the given time and instability regarding finances. The work plus

studies make these hardworking students sleep-deprived, and sleep deprivation increases

the risk factors of insomnia and damage to brain function. Working students exposed to

excessive workload despite the satisfactory salary will have bad effects on health and

wellbeing in the long run.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of Student Employment (IV) as correlates to the Academic

Performance (DV)

The illustration presented the conceptual framework according to the researchers'

visualization of the study. Student employment as the independent variable that was
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expected to have a significant relationship to academic performance served as the

dependent variable which both were relevant to the study. In addition, the illustration also

showed the factors affecting the independent and dependent variable, where student

employment has two: financial problem and hours of work while academic performance

has the same number of factors: hours of studying and GWA. The financial problem

described as working while studying requires self-supporting to sustain the school

requirements, and hours of work refers to the amount of time during the working students

involved in. The hours of studying pertain explicitly to the time left after spending hours

in work and the GWA of the participants last semester. Alongside were the mediating

variables: time management and COVID-19, wherein how the participants plan to

organize and divide their time between working and studying and the possible effect of

today's pandemic.

Statement of the Problem

The research sought to address the questions:

1. What are the General Weighted Average (GWA) of the psychology working students

at Universidad de Manila?

2. What is the respondent's degree of academic and working involvement in terms of:

a) No. of part-time jobs

b) Hours of Work

c) Hours of Studying

3) Is there a significant relationship between the UDM psychology student's employment

and their academic performance?

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Assumption

The following hypotheses are formulated based on the research questions

measured at a 0.05 level of significance.

Ho: There is no significant correlation between the UDM psychology student's

employment and their academic performance

Ha: There is a significant correlation between the UDM psychology student's

employment and their academic performance

Scope and Limitations

The design used in this study was Correlational Research Design to determine the

relationship between student employment and academic performance. Also, this focuses

on the psychology students of UDM. The participants were chosen upon the utilization of

the purposive sampling technique based on the researchers' criteria. Specifically, the

researchers only included collecting the working students' academic and employment

degree of involvement in GWA, the number of part-time jobs, hours of work, and hours

of studying because these are the factors that would lead to necessary data.

On the other hand, the researchers did not cover the student's demographic profile

and working performance. Also, the researchers did not include the other college under

College of Arts and Science- CAS working students in the study's instrumentation

because of the inconvenience of conducting surveys online. Moreover, the number of

respondents was limited to 30-50 individuals as it is needed to conduct the study.

Significance of the Study

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This study is significant in identifying how student employment correlates to

academic performance. The researcher had initiated to conduct this study as it is viewed

to be beneficial to the following:

Students. The findings of this study will provide the knowledge for the students to know

the advantages and disadvantages of being a working student. On the other hand, it is

deemed to raise their awareness of the effects of working while studying and giving them

ideas that are essential to consider upon working. Moreover, this study will lead other

students to empathize and put their feet first in someone's shoes before criticizing them.

School Faculty and Administration. This study will serve as a basis for the professors,

faculty members, and school administration upon giving consideration and proper

treatment to their working students.

Business Employers. Through this study, employers will be well-informed on students'

situations to adjust and create a healthy working environment that would charge as their

working experience. On the other hand, they are encouraged to hire more in-need

students to support their studies and daily expenses. Besides that, they are also persuaded

to consider their students' employees based on their class schedules.

Local & National Government. The local and national government can use the study's

findings to assess and evaluate the needs and issues of academic institutions to develop

their requirements in assisting deserving students. Also, both government units can create
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an agreement wherein the CHED, as of the academic institution, can develop plans and

innovation to accommodate and prevent the perennial problem. This initiative will raise

awareness for them to tackle the challenges the working students are now facing and how

it concerns the country's dropout rates, employment status, and academic achievement.

This study will also serve as a tool to improve the country's educational system to prevent

all students from being left behind.

Future Researcher. This study will guide future researchers to reference knowledge

about the implications of combining employment and school. It will provide them a

deeper understanding of the subject matter to find an effective solution for those working

students who have difficulties coping with their academic experience. The data gathered

and the results of this research can be used as a reference for future related studies since

limited local studies tackle this particular subject or concern. Lastly, this study will give

them ideas when conducting more detailed research on the same phenomenon with a

different perspective.

Definition of Terms

Academic Performance. It determines how working students perform in their class

based on final exams, written outputs, and participation or recitation. The general

weighted average measures this study for the 1st semester.

Balance. is weighing priorities and urgency in making decisions on how to invest time

Class. is a group of students who are enrolled in a particular course or lecture.

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Education. is learning about things around you and possessing knowledge without any

boundaries that can make your life simpler and easier. It's the road to achieve excellence

in the field of your choice.

Employment. Refers to the form of economic activity in which one person is appointed

to do a specific duty or task by another person.

Experience. is the accumulation of knowledge and expertise by doing stuff over time.

Performance. is measured by the typical organization based on skills, capabilities, and

expected outcomes regarding the performance of an individual or group.

Productivity. It refers to giving every initiative a sense of efficiency while getting the

benefits of being useful.

Responsibilities. is a sense of duty to accomplish a task entrusted to you.

Struggle. Refers to the problems or difficulties faced by the working students.

Work-Life Balance. Means maintaining the right balance between the time and energy

you devote to work on the other aspect of your life such as family, recreation, studying,

and self-improvement.

Working Student. is a student who works and attends school at the same time. They

must put in much commitment not only at work but also in their studies.
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Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

The foregoing related literature and studies gathered by the researchers is divided

into five variables namely Work-Life Balance, Employed Students Struggles, Working

Student’s Lived Experience, Foreign Student’s Working Experience, Effects of

Employment to Student’s Academic Progression, and that contains relevant and useful

information related in conducting and conceptualizing this study.

Local Studies

Variable 1: Work-Life Balance

The study of Abenoja et al. (2019) stated that financial support is one of the

driving forces of working while studying wherein they want to support themselves

financially and be independent. Self-development is also a driving force. They want to

improve themselves, the quality of life and gain experiences that they could use in the

future. Most of the reason why students work is because of money. Working also gives

them a happy feeling because they gain while studying. In the same way, it helps them

manage their time efficiently and adequately by determining their time for study and time

for work, but there are times that they are having poor time management due to work

overload. Working alongside studying also helps the students know the positive and

negative impact of working while studying, surpassing the problems they encounter, and

realizing how hard it is to gain money.

Most of the population says that working while studying helps them a lot in

personal skills and financial stability. Some of them work to earn money, and some of the

work to gain experience. As a working student, you constantly lack sleep, don't have
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enough hours to sleep, and balance your time with your job and studies. Being a working

student can mold and developed you into different aspects, such as you would have the

ability to balance and manage everything. (Corselles et al., 2020). The evidence obtained

confirms that a noticeable proportion of Spanish university students have a paid job and

often work regularly for extended periods. It is also common for those who work to do so

motivated by necessity and perform tasks unrelated to the content of their studies.

Moreover, the likelihood of working is higher among older students, foreigners, and

higher motivation levels. (Simón et al., 2017).

Variable 2: Employed Students Struggles

The struggles of working students are divided into two; these are personal and school-

related. They are having a hard time because of the struggles that they are experiencing.

They suffer sleep deprivation that can affect their health, and having health issues or

complications is a factor for them to struggle in time management that can be a cause of

missed lessons, loss of concentration, and conflicts on school task (Gutierrez et al., 2019)

Variable 3: Working Student's Lived Experience

Working and studying at the same time is a difficult challenge, particularly for

full-time students who work more hours per week. This can be a difficult condition that

necessitates a careful balance between study and work time. Students who serve while

learning are more likely to come from low-income households where survival is a must.

Tuttle (2005) defines them as low-income and, to a lesser degree, middle-income students

who face unmet financial obligations and must work while pursuing their education.
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Working while studying may have positive as negative consequences, and it would affect

different types of students in different ways (Lederman, 2009). Studies show that students

who work are more confident and possess better time-management skills than those who

are not employed. Part-time work may offer both training and experience and providing a

salary, some independence, and satisfaction. Working gives students accountability and

can help them remember what they've learned in class. Despite particular challenges, they

seem to handle their time well while learning and working at the same time. They seem

to be contented with having good academic performance. Their studies appear to be their

priority more than anything else. According to Furr & Elling, in Watanabe (2005), as

more students work, they must balance their academic obligations, extracurricular

interests, and job commitments to sustain their lifestyles.

Foreign Studies

Variable 4: Foreign Student's Working Experience

According to M. Kwadzo (2014), these students benefited from the duties that

came with their dual position as students and employees in several ways. They did,

however, experience emotional and physical stress, which manifested itself in fatigue,

absence of rest, role conflict, homesickness, and anger. Interestingly, these students were

effective in using various coping strategies, such as seeking social support and engaging

in leisure and nonleisure activities, to counteract the adverse effects of learning and

working at the same time. Therefore, even though these students are capable of working

while studying, they still face difficulties on a daily basis.

A certain amount of stress is safe, as it encourages people to engage in a wide

variety of positive activities and experiences. On the other hand, stress is only harmful to
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one's health when it is excessive. As a result, a certain level of stress is needed for

motivation, imagination, and the ability to face challenges (Kwadzo, 2014).

Variable 5: Effects of Employment on Student's Academic Progression

This paper analyzes the impact of working on the academic progression, including

the number of credits obtained by the first-year students of Italy. The researchers

discussed the different hypotheses on the role of work during university on academic

outcomes: the zero-sum perspective, the selection to work hypothesis, and the

reconciliation thesis. The researchers utilized a negative binomial regression model

considering the work experience as an endogenous multinomial treatment. Results

indicate that conditional on observed covariates (sociodemographic variables, school-

related and university-related variables) shows positive self-selection into the working

condition, especially for low-intensity work. Traditional multivariate regressions show a

penalty in academic progression only for high-intensity workers, but once accounted for

unobserved heterogeneity, the low-intensity work experience negatively affects academic

progression (Triventi, 2012).

Synthesis

This chapter contains several studies and articles conducted by other researchers

that served as supporting evidence for the findings. According to Lederman (2009),

students who work while studying are more likely to come from low-income families,

and yet, there is a bright spot to it; working and studying at the same time teaches

students the importance of commitment, and amid some obstacles, they seem to have a

strong sense of time management Sustersic et al., (2014). In addition, being a working
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student will mold and develop you in various ways, including the ability to maintain and

manage your time, and greatly benefits them in terms of communication skills, financial

security, and personal skills. Regardless, there's positive there are also negative

consequences, Gutierrez et al. (2019), the struggles of working students are divided into

two, those are personal and school-related. They did, however, experience emotional and

physical fatigue, sleep deprivation, role conflict, homesickness, and frustration.

According to Fjortoft (1995), the more a student works, the less opportunity he or she has

for academic or social activities. E. Hovdhaugen (2013), dropout rates are influenced by

employment status, and students who work full-time are less likely to complete their

degree. As a result, even though these students are capable of working while studying,

they face challenges regularly. This section of the research aims to collect supporting data

to conform to the necessary relevant data required to solve the study's problem. The

related studies were used to validate data and measure the durability of the outcome

discovered later in this study. With its help, this study was able to define and endorse the

course's goal, which is to determine whether there is a connection between student

employment and academic performance among psychology students in UDM and the

implications for all parties concerned.

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Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the research design, population and sampling,

instrumentation, data gathering procedure, and data analysis, which are essential in the

development of the structural framework of the study.

Research Design

This study employed the qualitative approach, focusing on obtaining non-

numerical findings using an interview method. According to Parkinson and Drislane

(2011), it is a research using methods such as participant observation or case studies

which result in a narrative, descriptive account of a setting or practice. Sociologists using

these methods typically reject positivism and adopt a form of interpretive sociology.

Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists

of a set of interpretive, material practices that makes the world visible. These practices

transform the world. They turn the world into a series of representations, including field

notes, interviews, conversations, photographs, recordings, and memos to the self. At this

level, qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world.

This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to

make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.

(Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 3)

Population and Sampling

The respondents of the research are selected 3 psychology students from the

College of Arts and Sciences in UDM and also 2 HR professionals form a BPO company
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Accenture. The researchers conducted a purposive sampling known as judgmental,

selective, or subjective sampling to get the sample size. It is a form of non-probability

sampling in which researchers rely on their judgment when choosing members of the

population to participate in their study (Alchemer, 2020). Thus, researchers' prior

knowledge and purpose of conducting this study are essential to answer the research

questions and to achieve its objectives—this sampling is one of the most cost-effective

and time-effective sampling methods available.

Research Instrument

This part of the study shows the kind of method that the researchers used to

collect the information of their respondents. The researchers used an open-ended

interview questions to be answered by the interviewee later on. The interview will be

video recorded as soon as the interview starts.

The instrument, an interview questions is composed of open-ended interview

questions. An interview is generally a qualitative research technique which involves

asking open-ended questions to converse with respondents and collect elicit data about a

subject. Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant’s

experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic.

Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to

further investigate their responses (McNamara, 1999). In the first portion of the

interview, the researchers asked for the permission of the respondents. The purpose of

this is to get their consent and assures them that all information and data that they will

gather will be safe and secured. Then, the researchers proceeded to the interview while

the whole interview was video recorded.

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Data Gathering Procedure

This section will state the process on how the researchers gather their data.

At first, the researchers constructed the title of the study and validated it to the

professor. It also has the general problem and specific problems (given in chapter 1 of

this study) to be answered through the results of the data that will be gathered later on.

The researchers used a qualitative method to collect the data. The researchers selected

their respondents by using purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is selecting samples

based on your knowledge of the population you are sampling (Manz, 2017).

In this study, the researchers conducted an online interview through an open-

ended interview questions. The researchers selected two interviewee who specializes in

the field of Human Resources and three student employees. The two HR professionals are

both from a BPO company named Accenture and the three students are from the

Psychology course of Universidad de Manila.

Before administering the instruments, an informed consent form was distributed

to ensure the participants are briefed about the aim of their participation and that their

cooperation is voluntary. As they had agreed to be a respondent of research, the

researchers conducted an interview to the preferred date and time. The interviewees will

answer an open-ended interview questions, then the researchers will video recorded the

answers of the interviewees.

After the data gathering, the researchers will tabulate and analyze the data to

identify the effects of student’s employment and its correlation of student working and

their academic performance.

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Data Analysis

The researchers used an open-ended interview questions in gathering data from

the respondents. The data gathered were arranged using qualitative method and expressed

using Content Analysis. Content analysis is a set of procedures for collecting and

organizing information in a standardized format that allows analysts to make inferences

about the characteristics and meaning of written and other recorded material. Simple

formats can be developed for summarizing information or counting the frequency of

statements. More complex formats can be created for analyzing trends or detecting subtle

differences in the intensity of statements (Chelimsky, 1989). The statistical treatment

used by the researchers was Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient to test the correlation and

significant relationship of the student’s employment and their academic performance.

The Pearson coefficient is a type of correlation coefficient that represents the relationship

between two variables that are measured on the same interval or ratio scale. The Pearson

coefficient is a measure of the strength of the association between two continuous

variables (Kenton, 2020)