Why Your Teen's Smartphone May Be Necessary for Their Summer Job

Why Do Teens Need Smartphones For A Job?
Technology has changed everything, and finding a job is no exception. Especially with the jobs teens are usually up for, the application process often involves using a custom app or a website to fill out forms, even with places that conduct on-site interviews. In some cases, the entire process is done online, or new employees are asked to view online training modules through their phones and tablets, which can fall afoul of parental control apps for smartphones.
It also applies to the day-to-day “paperwork” of a job. For example, employees may be expected to sign into an app to confirm their hours or tell their manager what hours they have available this week, or they might need an app to access company tools such as price lookup. In some cases, they even need their smartphones to get paid, as companies are increasingly turning to apps like Venmo and Zelle to pay their employees, rather than go to the expense of printing out and distributing paychecks.
And, of course, let’s not forget that having a smartphone means a manager can quickly reach an employee when they’re needed, so if your teen wants to pick up an extra shift, or at least be accessible for it, they can be reached. So, the phone’s necessary, but how do you balance that against the rules?

Rules Of The Job
To start with, any parental control apps for smartphones should have a “whitelist” function that will let you approve work-related apps and websites, or permit certain phone numbers to call your teen’s phone. Of course, this depends heavily on the app and its function. For example, if you want to keep your teen from spending their whole paycheck in a day, you might put the paycheck app on your phone instead of theirs, and dole out the money where appropriate.
Similarly, you should discuss with their manager the needs for a smartphone at work; if, for example, teens only need their smartphone for their job when they’re not at work, they’ll likely be too busy to look at their phones in the first place. It’s important to, as much as possible, let teens manage their job on their own, however, as learning to negotiate with supervisors and time management are part of the reason teens get jobs in the first place.
Finally, be ready to ease up on your parental control app, beyond a certain point. Taking a job is a big responsibility, and if a teenager can handle showing up to work and getting the job done, then that should be a factor in the phone rules. Sooner or later they’re going to be full-fledged adults, and giving them more responsibility by slow degrees is the best way to make that transition an easy one. To learn more about smartphones and parental control apps, try Screen Time for free!