September 19, 2025
Discover a personal story about teens and the modern work world. Training teens for the work world requires a strong emphasis on work ethic, developing social skills, and guidance on the biblical perspective on work. Finally, strengthen your teen’s work ethic through these tips and strategies.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Sometimes our teenagers think they will spontaneously improvise through life’s most important moments. Whether it’s an upcoming school assignment, musical performance, or weekend volleyball game, apathy and lack of preparation can creep in. However, when it comes to job interviews, preparation and more specifically work ethic matter more than they know. Keep reading to learn more about how to cultivate the necessary work ethic for your teens to help them achieve their dreams in the present and the future.
A teen walks into a job interview. We’ll call him Brandon. He answers questions well. His prospects look good. Then his phone chimes with a new text message. Oops. No harm done — yet.
Brandon reaches for his cell, and his thumbs start flying. His eyes glance up and down from phone to interviewer as he tries to multitask.
Rob Taylor has seen that happen. As the owner-operator of three Chick-fil-A franchises in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he has witnessed plenty of how-not-to-get-a-job moments. He’s had job-seeking teens tell him, “I’ve never eaten here” and “I don’t like chicken.”
But Rob has also hired and worked with countless respectful, enthusiastic teens. As a business owner and a parent, he has watched teenagers grow and develop important life skills through working.
“Work teaches a lot about responsibility,” Rob says. “It teaches kids about accountability, the value of money and the value of contributing.” The job search and commitment to employment also helps teens build valuable time-management skills as they learn to balance multiple tasks.
“Our girls excelled more in school when they were busier and had more going on,” Rob’s wife, Maureen, says, “because they knew, This is my block of time to get my homework done, instead of, I’ll put it off until I feel like it.”
Even the most mature teenager, however, usually needs some help with the new experience of getting and keeping a job. But with some preparation, encouragement and support from parents, your teen can experience success that will carry into adulthood.
The first step toward employment, of course, is learning how to apply and interview for a job. Follow Rob Taylor’s tips to help your teen navigate the hiring process:
Visit the business. Watch and listen. How does management treat the employees? How do employees speak to each other? What values are represented?
Let your teen know that neatness on an application is critical: It tells an employer that the applicant cares about his work. Your teen should also use teachers, coaches or youth leaders for references, not family and friends.
Help your teen make a good impression with the five S’s: stand, see (eye contact), smile, shake hands and say the name of the interviewer. Your teen also needs to know the rules of the interview: Be on time. Don’t bring friends or family. Have an adult approve your outfit. Turn off your phone. Speak clearly.
Prepare your teen with a practice interview. Ask: “Why do you want to work here? What are your strengths? What have you learned from other jobs, chores or volunteering you’ve done?” Help your teen have several good questions to ask during the interview. Employers want to know that the applicant has done their research and will be a contributing participant in the company’s mission.
Many of the traits necessary for workplace success should begin in early childhood and be consistently reinforced during the teen years, including respect for authority, willingness to serve and work with others, and diligence in meeting responsibilities. Household chores are a great preparation tool.
“I often joke with the teens we’re hiring and say, ‘You get to wash dishes; you get to mop the floor, and take out the trash — all of those things you do at home. Now you just get paid for them,’ ” Rob says.
After your teen has secured a job, share a few tips to help him work as a stellar employee:
Your attitudes about work may have rubbed off on your teens. Do your kids hear you complain about your job or boss? Do your actions show them that work is only a means to an end — or an opportunity to serve God and represent Him with the gifts He’s given?
Parents can model a great example by following Colossians 3:23 — “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
That’s the type of attitude Rob, and other bosses, are looking for. “I tell teenagers, ‘It’s not the job that’s going to make you feel important. It’s what you do with that job, with that responsibility. Whatever you do, do that to the very best of your ability.’ ” Work ethic for teens begins with assessing your attitude. Help your teens understand how their attitude either negatively or positively affects their ability to serve others.
The number of teens working has declined steadily since the early 1990s, when about half of all teens held a summer job. By 2009, only one-third of teens worked, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2022, just about 30 percent of teenagers in the U.S. currently have jobs. One of the leading reasons seems to be scheduling. Today’s teens are busy. Academics, sports, music, youth group, volunteering and a host of other extra-curricular activities often squeeze out work.
Parents can help their teens decide whether part-time employment is right for them by having an honest discussion about their priorities. “[Teens] think they can spin all the plates,” Chick-fil-A franchise owner-operator Rob Taylor says. “So a child needs to find out, Do I really understand what my priorities are, and how am I going to balance that?”
It’s a good idea to agree ahead of time on clear guidelines to measure whether the number of work hours is appropriate in your child’s life. Falling grades or missed commitments might be the indicator that something has to go from a teen’s schedule.
Christian psychologist coauthor of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, Dr. Paul White observed that a strong work ethic begins at home.
Decades ago, first jobs for teenagers consisted of the usual summer lifeguard job or popcorn scooper at the local movie theater. In our modern culture, the internet and social media creates a variety of unique job opportunities for our teens. Don’t worry though, local pools and movie theaters are still open too. Preparing your teen for the work world is more important now than ever.
One day my teenage twin sons decided they didn’t want to help around the house. One said, “All we do is work! We go to school, then to practice, come home, and have dinner. Then we do homework.”
“We don’t have time to do chores,” said the other.
“I understand,” I told them. “You are busy, but we are a family. We live together as a community. If you don’t want to work cooperatively, we can all take care of ourselves.”
My wife added, “You can do your own laundry, make your own meals, and do your own grocery shopping. And Dad and I will do ours.”
“I’ll share my money with Mom,” I concluded, “but you can pay for your own food and clothes.”
They quickly realized that they could do chores, and their work rebellion lasted about 10 minutes. As parents, we must prepare our children to be able to function in the working world. Part of this preparation is teaching our kids to have a good work ethic.
As I work with companies, I hear their many complaints about younger generations not having a well-developed work ethic. This seems partially due to the fact that younger employees often have less work experience than young adults had in past generations. Some don’t have their first real job until after college, whereas past generations started working at a much younger age.
I wish there were a video game that taught teens how to perform quality work diligently, but there isn’t. Just as those who came before them, teens will learn how to work by working. Fortunately, work doesn’t have to mean a paying job.
Work can start early in life with simple daily tasks such as picking up toys and helping clear the table of dishes. That should grow into doing chores around the house: taking out the trash, making a bed, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, loading the dishwasher or helping fold the laundry. By the teen years, adolescents should be helping with yard work and assisting in preparing meals.
Of course, if you are just starting to ask your children to do chores during the teen years, be ready for pushback. You may need to employ the strategy of giving them the choice to do the work or pay you or a younger sibling to do their chores. This reflects real life — you can do a task or pay someone to do it.
Our culture’s misguided goal of giving children a happy childhood — mistakenly defined as having no responsibilities — has led us down the wrong path. For our teens to become functional working adults, they must learn three key concepts:
Most adults, whether we work inside or outside the home, must complete certain daily responsibilities before we do things we want to do. This is a critical habit to teach teens as they mature — complete your chores before you play; finish your homework before you watch TV; mow the lawn before you go to a friend’s house.
Our culture tells kids: “When you are 16, you can drive;” and “When you are in middle school, you can go to the mall with your friends on your own.” Inadvertently, our children are being taught that privileges are related to age or grade, so all you have to do is stay alive and you get more freedom.
But in the working world, increased privileges, such as working from home or supervising others, are earned through demonstrated ability and responsibility. So the message should be: “You can drive alone when I see you drive safely” and “You can go to the mall alone when you have demonstrated enough maturity.”
The goal of teens may be to complete tasks with the least amount of effort possible. But in the working world, the customer wants the job completed in a reasonable timeframe and at an acceptable quality level which is defined by the customer, not the teen. If you, their customer, do not deem a job done well, then it is your responsibility to “complain” until the task is completed to your satisfaction.
As with other areas of life, teens learn best when we, as parents, do tasks with them, modeling and instructing along the way. Then we need to give them opportunities to practice working — at home, at church or in the community. Just telling them to “work hard” doesn’t typically get it done.
From a parent’s perspective, our teen’s work ethic depends on a variety of factors including their friends, siblings, and other influences. When it comes to work, developing a strong work ethic is one of the primary factors in creating a positive reputation. But specific jobs require different styles of work ethic.
So, what is a good work ethic? Some supervisors and employers describe work ethic as:
You can help your teenager develop their work ethic, skills, and approach to their first job. This practice sets them up for career success as adults.
Dr. Paul White is a Christian psychologist who addresses work-related issues. Along with Dr. Gary Chapman, he has co-authored: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.
Dr. Paul White is a Christian psychologist who addresses work-related issues. Along with Dr. Gary Chapman, he has co-authored The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.
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