The reality of the worker-student status in Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34630/tth.v6i1.7339Keywords:
Student-worker, higher education, mental health, weell-being, academic performance, work-life balanceAbstract
The student-worker status has been gaining increasing relevance in Portugal, reflecting a socioeconomic reality that demands academic and institutional attention. This article argues that, although balancing work and study represents an opportunity for personal and professional development, the structural conditions under which this conciliation takes place are frequently unsustainable, imposing significant costs on students' well-being, academic performance and social life. Through an in-depth reflection on the main challenges that this phenomenon raises, namely time management, psychological well-being and the role of educational institutions and companies, it is argued that truly recognizing this status means going beyond legal protection and creating, in practice, conditions that allow for a real and lasting balance. Without this collective transformation, the student-worker status will continue to be, for many, not a choice, but a necessity endured at the expense of health and quality of life.
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