The following questions were asked in regard to the weekly workload taken on by students. This includes work from paid and unpaid jobs, as well as time spent caregiving for a family member. Students’ academic workload is also looked at in order to see the hours spent each week on schoolwork, as well as looking at the combined hours across academic and non-academic responsibilities.


Weekly Paid Work Hours

Estimate the number of hours you work in a PAID job (for example, server at a restaurant, office assistant, etc.) or paid internship (for example, training, shadowing, or practicum) per week. (n=139, 95% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.1: Weekly Paid Hour Ranges

The data indicates that the majority of survey participants work either part-time or not at all. Only a small number of participants are considered to be working full-time (40 or more hours per week). Below is a breakdown of the exact paid hours worked by survey participants.


Exact Hours Breakdown

Although the majority of the participants claim to work 0 hours per week, below is a breakdown of the exact number of hours for those who claim to work a paid job (n=93, 63% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.2: Weekly Paid Hours Distribution

Note that “41+” was rounded to 41 in the following analysis for the paid hours worked per week.

The average number of paid hours worked per week (denoted by the dotted line) is 23.17, while the median is 20 hours. The majority of students are considered as part-time workers (less than 40 hours per week), with 30 hours per week being the most common response (14 people) and 20 hours per week being the next most frequent.


Impact of COVID

Have the hours you work in a PAID job or internship changed due to COVID-19? (n=131, 89% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.3: COVID Impact on Paid Hours

The data indicates that most survey participants were able to keep their current paid jobs during COVID-19, potentially with changes to hours. There were 36 students that had their hours decrease, 34 students maintained the same hours, and 10 students had their hours increase. There were also 27 students that claimed they no longer had their paid position due to the impact of COVID, while 24 students claimed that they did not have a paid position before COVID.


Unpaid Work Hours

Estimate the number of hours you work in an UNPAID internship (for example, training, shadowing, practicum, and/or volunteer, etc.). Do not combine with answers above. (n=138, 94% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.4: Weekly Unpaid Hour Ranges

We can see that the majority of survey participants (102 people) do not work an unpaid job. A small number of participants work part-time at an unpaid job and only a select few work full-time at an unpaid job. Below is a breakdown of the number of unpaid hours worked per week.


Exact Hours Breakdown

Although the majority of the participants claim to work 0 hours per week, below is a breakdown of the exact number of hours for those who claim to work an unpaid job (n=36, 24% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.5: Weekly Unpaid Hours Distribution

Note that “41+” was rounded to 41 in the following analysis for the unpaid hours worked per week.

The average number of unpaid hours worked per week (denoted by the dotted line) is 17.53, while the median is 11 hours. Of survey participants who work unpaid positions, 41 weekly hours is the highest-frequency response (7 people) with 5 weekly hours being the next most frequent (6 people).


Unpaid Caregiving Hours

Estimate the number of hours you spend each week on unpaid family obligations (for example, taking care of younger siblings, preparing family meals, running errands for the family, etc.). (n=140, 95% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.6: Weekly Caregiving Hour Ranges

The data indicates that the majority of survey participants spend some time each week caring for family members. Of the unpaid caregiving hours breakdown, 30 participants estimated that they spent 0 hours per week on unpaid family obligations. A similar proportion of participants estimated they work full-time (40 or more hours per week) on unpaid family obligations. Below is a breakdown of these unpaid hours spent on family obligations each week.


Exact Hours Breakdown

Although some of the participants claim to spend 0 hours per week on unpaid family obligations, below is a breakdown of the exact number of hours for those who claim to do so (n=110, 75% of 147 reporting). Figure 3.7: Weekly Caregiving Hours Distribution

Note that “41+” was rounded to 41 in the following analysis for the unpaid caregiving hours worked per week.

The average number of unpaid caregiving hours worked per week (denoted by the dotted line) is 16.52, while the median is 11 hours. The most common response was 20 hours per week of caregiving (17 people) and 41 hours per week was the second most frequent (16 people).


Academic Workload

Below is a breakdown of the academic workload, using the 3 hours of work per unit measurement (n=142, 97% of 147 reporting). Note that values denoted as “22+” are now “66+”, but were rounded to 66 for the analysis below. Figure 3.8: Academic Hours Distribution

The average number of academic hours worked per week (denoted by the dotted line) is 40.69, while the median is 42 hours. The majority of students working 36 or more hours per week, with 36 hours being most common (43 people) and 45 hours the second most frequent (39 people).


Non-Academic Workload

Below is a combination of both paid and unpaid hours worked by students to get a further understanding of the workload participants face on a weekly basis. The values are also filtered so that only people who worked (more than 0 hours in total) were included (n=100, 68% of 147 reporting). Note that values denoted as “41+” were added together to form “82+”, but are rounded to 82 for the analysis below. Figure 3.9: Non-Academic Hours Distribution

The average number of total hours worked per week (denoted by the dotted line) is 27.86, while the median is 28 hours. The data indicates that the majority of students work under 40 non-academic hours per week in total. Most participants, 15 respondents, claiming to spend 30 hours per week on non-academic work followed by 11 people claiming to work 20 non-academic hours per week.


Total Workload

Below is a combination of all worked hours per week, both academic and non-academic. This includes units (3 hr/unit), paid, and unpaid worked hours (n=142, 97% of 147 reporting). Note that values denoted as “41+” and “22+” were rounded to 41 and 22 (respectively) for the below analysis. Figure 3.10: Total Workload Hours Distribution

The average number of total hours worked per week (denoted by the dotted line) is 60.31, while the median is 60.5 hours. The data indicates that the majority of students are working over full-time in total. The most common response was 45 hours worked per week (15 people) and 36 hours worked per week the second most frequent (11 people).


CalFresh Workload

People are required to meet a certain work criteria in order to receive CalFresh benefits. All able-bodied adults are required to work a minimum of 80 hours per month, which can be broken down into roughly 20 hours per week. This can be either paid or unpaid work, and more information on this requirement can be found on the Department of Social Services website. If you are a student, you may be enrolled in at least 6 academic units or more (equivalent to 18+ hours per week of academic workload) rather than having a paid/unpaid job. For more information on student eligibility, see the College Student Eligibility requirements on Chico State’s website. Here you can use the COVID Prescreen template link to help determine if you will be eligible for CalFresh benefits.

The below graphs breaks down if a person meets the workload requirements based solely on one of the following criteria:

  • Academic workload - enrolled in 6 or more units (18 or more hours).
  • Paid Workload - working 20+ weekly hours at a paid position.
  • Unpaid Workload - working 20+ weekly hours at a unpaid position.
  • Total Workload - working 20+ weekly hours in total (combination of academic, paid, and unpaid).

Note: people with a workload of 0 hours were included in the graph and analysis. Figure 3.11: CalFresh Workload Qualification Breakdown

  • Based on the academic workload, the data indicates a large majority of participants are taking more than 6 units and are meeting the eligibility requirements (137 people). A very small minority of participants are not taking more than 6 units and do not meet the eligibility requirements (5 people).
  • Based on the paid workload, the data indicates that less than half of participants work 20 or more hours per week and meet the eligibility requirements (59 people). Comparatively, (80 people) work less than 20 hours per week and do not meet the eligibility requirements.
  • Based on the unpaid workload, the data indicates that only a minority of participants work 20 or more hours per week and meet the eligibility requirements (13 people). The vast majority work less than 20 hours per week and do not meet the eligibility requirements (125 people).
  • Based on the total workload, the data indicates that the majority of participants work 20 or more hours per week and meet the eligibility requirements (140 people). Only a small number work less than 20 hours per week and do not meet the eligibility requirements (2 people).