Navigating Beyond Work–Study Balance: Challenges and Strategies among Higher Education Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70716/jess.v3i2.799Keywords:
challenges, higher education, strategies, work–study balanceAbstract
Although a growing body of literature investigates work–study balance, studies integrating both challenges and strategies within a unified framework for higher education students remain limited. This study addresses this gap by synthesizing evidence from diverse geographical contexts to develop a cohesive paradigm of students’ work–study balance across varied higher education environments. Using a systematic literature review and document analysis approach with defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 51 scholarly articles published between 2020 and 2025 were systematically examined to establish novel insights. The review identifies key student challenges, including mental health issues, reduced physical activity, lower academic performance, increased stress, and sleep disturbance, all of which have detrimental effects on students’ psychological and physical well-being. These challenges highlight the complex demands of balancing work and study, underscoring the importance of effective coping strategies to help students manage their academic and employment responsibilities successfully. However, the study also indicates effective strategies that help students manage these challenges across diverse contexts and domains of higher education, including time management, maintaining a healthy work–study balance, peer support, goal orientation, self-regulation, and self-motivation. These crucial strategies enable employed students to enhance academic performance, maintain well-being, and achieve both academic and career objectives, showing their practical value in supporting a successful work–study balance. Overall, the study outlines directions for future research to rigorously examine work–study balance across diverse institutional, cultural, geographical, and environmental contexts, emphasizing the need for comparative and context-sensitive methods to advance theory and inform practice in higher education.
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