Moonlighting – More the merrier??

Moonlighting is a common term used to signify the act of undertaking multiple jobs apart from your primary employment. It doesn’t mean just one or two jobs at a time. It can be 7 jobs at a time if one is capable and agile enough to undertake them. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown forced us all into doing everything we could to make ends meet, owing to pay cuts and increased expenses. This time in our lives made employees choose odd jobs and extra payoffs for one-time or ongoing tasks. However, despite the rise back from the pandemic lockdown, employees are used to the excess funds and continue to moonlight for additional money. This is because they realize that their potential allows them to work for longer hours at another place too; not realizing the long-term effects of constant work. Here, one of our clients asked us to vet their entire workforce for some clarity on who is honest and who is breaking policies. We found that one of their team members was juggling 6 other jobs while still continuing his primary employment. 

This could be detrimental to say employee’s mental and physical health as well as his ability to conduct day-to-day operations at his job. Burning out is a very grave concept and this is why many organizations have policies against moonlighting. One must always put their best foot forward at their workplace and working multiple jobs can hamper this ability. Make sure that your team members are always aware of the dangers and downsides of moonlighting, for multiple reasons. This could have been one of your employees too: juggling or getting caught by your team.

Prevention is always better than punishment.