Wiscosin Medical Society: Students with more than 1 job more likely to be injured, study finds

Contact: Lisa Hildebrand, 608.442.3765, lisa.hildebrand@wismed.org

Madison, Wis. – High school students who were enrolled in School-Sponsored Work Programs and

were working multiple jobs were 1.6 times more likely to be injured on the job compared to those

working one job, according to an article in the current issue of WMJ (vol. 110, no. 4). The study was

funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

“While this is not a statistically significant finding, the elevated odds ratio does indicate that working

multiple jobs has an effect on work-related injury,” the authors wrote about their study of students in

Wisconsin’s five public health regions. Slightly more than half of the 6,810 respondents were employed

during the school year, and 13.5 percent were enrolled in a school-sponsored work program.

Of the 461 students in a school-sponsored work program, 44 percent had more than one job, the study

found. “Students working multiple jobs were more likely to work over 40 hours per week, more likely to

work after 11 p.m. during the school week, more likely to be asked to do a dangerous task and more likely

to report a near-miss incident at work,” the authors wrote.

The study also found that academic performance outcomes were worse for students working multiple

jobs. Of the 204 students working more than one job, 9 percent did not expect to graduate, 43 percent cut

or skipped classes three or more times and 45 percent had three or more unexcused absences.

WMJ Medical Editor John J. Frey, III, MD, noted the impressive commitment Wisconsin has made to

school-sponsored work and acknowledged the value of linking classroom work to direct applications of

learning. “This study should support questions about work outside of school as an essential part of

adolescent physical exams, be they for sports or other activities or urgent care visits,” Dr. Frey wrote. “If

students are working multiple jobs, our responsibility to them is to counsel them about the dangers of loss

of concentration or the safety training that should be part of their job. … (Physicians) have a

responsibility to counsel them to be mindful of dangers inherent in their work.”

Published by the Wisconsin Medical Society, WMJ is devoted to the interests of the medical

profession and health care in the Midwest. The peer-reviewed publication, which is available in print and

electronic format, is one of the few state medical society-sponsored medical journals that publish a large

amount of original research and academic content.

With nearly 12,500 members dedicated to the best interests of their patients, the Society is the largest

association of medical doctors in the state and has been a trusted source for health policy leadership since

1841. For details, visit www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org.