Paradoks Kemandirian Finansial dan Prekaritas Kerja: Studi tentang Mahasiswa Pekerja Paruh di Yogyakarta

Zahra Maulida, Dr. M. Falikul Isbah, G.D.Soc.,M.A.

2026 | Skripsi | Sosiologi

Fenomena mahasiswa pekerja paruh waktu di Yogyakarta kini bertransformasi menjadi kebutuhan adaptif yang inheren dalam kehidupan akademik harian. Penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan sosiologis-deskriptif ini bertujuan untuk membedah paradoks antara pencarian kemandirian finansial jangka pendek dengan jerat kerentanan struktural, serta menganalisis implikasi psikososial konflik peran ganda dan artikulasi agensi mahasiswa dalam merespons tekanan pasar kerja perkotaan. Menggunakan teknik purposive sampling, data primer dihimpun secara langsung melalui wawancara mendalam dan observasi partisipatif terhadap 13 informan mahasiswa aktif lintas sektor, seperti F&B, ritel, media kreatif, dan gig economy digital. Data sekunder diperoleh lewat studi literatur, yang kemudian dianalisis secara kualitatif-refleksif menggunakan integrasi teori Precarious Employment, Work-Life Conflict (WLC), dan konsep Job Crafting.

Hasil penelitian mengungkap adanya kontradiksi struktural yang tajam antara retorika ideal fleksibilitas industri jasa dengan realitas prekaritas berlapis yang dihadapi oleh mahasiswa pekerja. Kondisi tersebut mengkristal dalam tiga dimensi kerentanan utama, yaitu adanya ketidakpastian durasi dan distorsi waktu kerja, ketidakjelasan status administrasi kontrak kerja, serta rendahnya posisi tawar mahasiswa di hadapan pemberi kerja. Implikasi psikososial dari situasi ini melahirkan konflik peran ganda yang berat, ditandai oleh gejala split allegiances atau perpecahan fokus harian, akumulasi the guilt factor berupa rasa bersalah akibat stagnasi studi, serta social comparison berupa perasaan tertinggal secara intelektual dari rekan sebaya. Kendati demikian, mahasiswa tidak menjadi korban pasif struktural; mereka aktif mengartikulasikan agensi harian melalui mekanisme job crafting berbasis solidaritas organik horizontal seperti sistem barter shift kerja, hingga tindakan emansipatif berupa pendirian kolektif bisnis atau start-up mandiri yang lebih setara demi meredefinisi posisi tawar ekonomi mereka.

The phenomenon of student part-time workers in Yogyakarta has increasingly transformed into an adaptive necessity inherent to everyday academic life. This qualitative study, employing a descriptive sociological approach, aims to examine the paradox between the pursuit of short-term financial independence and structural vulnerability, while also analyzing the psychosocial implications of dual-role conflict and the articulation of student agency in responding to the pressures of the urban labor market. Using purposive sampling, primary data were collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation involving 13 active student informants working across various sectors, including F&B services, retail, creative media, and the digital gig economy. Secondary data were obtained through a literature review and subsequently analyzed using a qualitative-reflexive approach integrating the theories of Precarious Employment, Work-Life Conflict (WLC), and the concept of Job Crafting.

The findings reveal a sharp structural contradiction between the idealized rhetoric of flexibility promoted by the service industry and the layered precarity experienced by student workers. This condition is manifested in three primary dimensions of vulnerability: uncertainty regarding working hours and time allocation, ambiguity in employment and contractual status, and the weak bargaining position of students vis-à-vis employers. The psychosocial consequences of these conditions generate severe dual-role conflicts, characterized by split allegiances, the accumulation of guilt associated with academic stagnation, and social comparison manifested in feelings of intellectual inferiority relative to peers. Nevertheless, students do not merely function as passive victims of structural constraints. Instead, they actively articulate their agency through job-crafting mechanisms grounded in horizontal organic solidarity, such as shift-exchange arrangements, as well as emancipatory initiatives including the establishment of collective businesses and independent start-ups aimed at redefining and strengthening their economic bargaining position.

Kata Kunci : Mahasiswa Pekerja, Pekerjaan Rentan, Konflik Peran Ganda, Agensi, Job Crafting.