Introduction
Employers have already started exploring the multidimensional implications of employees who choose to work for multiple employers. Moonlighting at work extends employees’ earnings and experiences, but can also harm a company’s interests if the employee spends time during their official hours on other matters. This raises concerns about decreased productivity among workers, in split loyalties, and situations of conflicts of interest.
This blog sheds light on moonlighting at work, its types, reasons for its rise, and how to tackle and manage this phenomenon when it comes to performance or work culture within the organization..
What is Moonlighting at Work?
Moonlighting at work is when an employee is engaged in some extra work along with their primary job, usually without the knowledge of the present employer. This second work might include anything from freelance jobs to part-time jobs, sideline businesses, or professional services in an area different from their primary profession. Moonlighting at work is nothing inherently immoral or illegal; however, keeping it is a matter of respect against the employer and may give the employer grounds for various legal actions.
Delving Deeper into the Concept of Moonlighting
Moonlighting has traditionally been perceived as a necessity born out of financial need. This notion has vastly changed today in the workplace as the reasons for moonlighting have diversified. More commonly now, with the availability of global work opportunities online, many professionals moonlight as a mechanism of channeling their passions, increasing incomes, and building their entrepreneurial portfolios. This trend has been further facilitated by the option to work remotely.
Understanding such a shift is crucial for the employer. It no longer remains a fringe activity; rather, it is an uphill trend with high-performing, ambitious employees. With this acknowledgment, the organization could adapt and perhaps minimize risks, or maybe even use the advantage of having a diverse range of life experiences working at their organization.
What are the types of Moonlighting
Moonlighting is not always the same. The type dictates the impact of moonlighting upon the primary employer and thus, its management. The bigger picture can be seen below:
Freelance Moonlighting: The employee offers their services (autowriting, design, consulting, etc.) on a freelance basis in hours not meant for their primary job.
Gig-based Moonlighting: Temporary to short-term jobs are involved in this kind, e.g., ride-sharing, food delivery, and online tutoring.
Entrepreneurial Moonlighting: A person is running their small business or startup, totally unrelated to their main job.
Competitive Moonlighting: Most feared by the employer is working for their direct competitor, and very likely to infringe upon confidentiality or conflict of interest.
Passive Moonlighting: These require almost no time or effort from a person; examples include managing rental houses and investing in income-generating assets.
Identifying any type of relationship between this moonlighting and the employee means helping identify whether or not it affects work productivity and is a conflict of interest with the company’s interests.
Reasons: Why Moonlighting is Rising?
There are many factors that drive the growth of moonlighting at work. There can be economic, personal, and technological reasons. Let’s look at a few of the reasons:
Economic pressures: With high costs of living, student loans, and stagnant wages, employees are looking for other ways to earn money.
Job insecurity: More offshoring and the infiltration of automation, just to name a few trends, have been causing job insecurity for many employees who now have to achieve precarious finances.
Passion Projects: Moonlighting also provides employees opportunities to pursue creative or entrepreneurial work by offloading some of their main job duties.
Skill development: Employees may engage in side projects to develop or practice skills they cannot utilize in their primary jobs, making them improved candidates in the job market.
Flexible work styles: Less commuting means time becomes available for side businesses, and employees in traditional work environments can use their flexible work to engage in secondary work.
Platform economy: Platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Uber make it easier to find part-time or project-based work.
Cultural shift: There is relatively little stigma around side hustles today, especially from the millennial and Gen Z employees, who are less bound by work climbers and are becoming more conscious about diversifying their income.
These factors demonstrate that moonlighting at work is not just a temporary trend but represents widespread ongoing changes in both society and workplace practice.
What are the Risks and Challenges of Moonlighting at Work
Though moonlighting at work presents several attractions, it also brings its own challenges and risks that a company needs to be aware of:
Decreased Productivity: If employees are stretched too thin, they may become fatigued and distracted, thus compromising their performance in their primary position.
Conflict of Interest: Employees working for competing firms or in the same industry may have conflicting issues, or even legal issues, with regard to confidentiality.
Time Theft: Employees may decide to take a paycheck doing side work during the normal work day, and not pay attention to the company time guidelines.
Health and Burnout: Employees may be juggling two jobs, which can induce mental and physical burnout, and effect their productivity in both jobs.
Team Dynamics: If co-workers find out that someone in their unit is moonlighting at work and they are aware that the employee may actually be doing less work than it’s shareholders, then it can create resentment amongst co-workers.
Security Risks: Improper handling of confidential information or misuse of employer property (e.g., the internet for side work) can create breaches of protections and security risks.
Organizations must understand these risks and consider company and organizational needs versus employee autonomy.
How to Deal with Moonlighting Employees?
Moonlighting can be good. In fact, it can produce positive employee satisfaction and skill growth when done right. Here are some strategies to engage in moonlighting at work in an positive way:
Establish a Formal Moonlighting Policy:
Create and clearly articulate a policy that clearly defines what moonlighting is, what forms are acceptable, and what needs to be disclosed. Be sure to specify what might be a conflict of interest and what can happen if they break the policy.
Encourage open and honest discussions:
Help create an environment where employees feel free to disclose their side hustle. Open and honest discussions about moonlighting at work mean that the employer’s specifications of potential risks can be assessed and better support the employee.
Understand that ethical tools can be used:
Surveillance should be minimized; however, ethical options to measure productivity, such as time sheets, project management tools, can take place to measure performance, while still maintaining employee privacy and respect.
Focus on Deliverables, Not Hours:
Pay attention to the work that’s done, not to the length of the workday. An employee who maintains high performance may have little issue working on their side hustle.
Provide Internal Growth Opportunities:
Help employees improve, move up in the organization, and explore other roles inside the company. People who are satisfied with their job are far less likely to look outside for satisfaction.
Implement Conflict of Interest Declarations:
Employees should state any work they do outside the company that may conflict with their regular tasks. They allow risk management to be preemptive.
Guidelines for Employee Contracts:
Insert guidelines for moonlighting at work, ownership of intellectual property, and confidentiality in every employment contract. Check the local worker guidelines to make sure your internal rules are not in conflict with regulations.
Support a Good Work-Life Balance:
Offer health-related ideas and let workers know to rest when required. If employees are well-rested and feel well, they are less likely to waste resources or time.
Periodic Performance Reviews:
Scheduled performance checks help notice any decrease in performance and let the company check if moonlighting at work is the reason.
Encourage Ethical Behavior:
Make sure ethics are part of your workplace’s everyday experiences. Underline that taking on extra work is fine, as long as it does not affect job performance, steal confidential data, or upset the work team
Conclusion
Working extra jobs on top of your main job has become more common. Because it is often unclear where work ends and personal life starts, remote working has become standard for many offices. Although flexible schedules help workers meet their financial goals or learn new things, they can be problematic for employers with production, safety, and motivation.
If companies simply ban moonlighting, they could upset valuable workers and develop distrust within their teams. Instead, businesses need to implement an organized strategy made up of clear guidelines, simple communication, supervised ethics, and continual help with employee advancement.
As long as workers are clever about how they use their extra hours, moonlighting at work can coincide with excellent performance. By matching the reasons behind moonlighting with their own company goals, organizations build a more welcoming, fresh,and determined workforce.