Working one job is difficult enough but taking on two at once is a mighty task that moonlighting employees understand best. Lately, conversations around employees moonlighting at work have gained traction as the workforce moved online and many found time on their hands instead of sufficient living wages. If you’re wondering “What is employee moonlighting?” then the term moonlighting refers to an employee with multiple jobs. Most of us with full-time time jobs might log out of work and go back home to take a breather. Those with a moonlighting career log of one full-time position to start working on their side jobs.
Companies are often disapproving of moonlighting employees for multiple reasons but there aren’t always ways for them to interfere with these additional jobs. Some would even say it’s unethical to try to do so. But it does put employers in a tricky position when their own company risks facing losses when an employee is distracted by external responsibilities. This is where moonlighting policies come in.
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What is Employee Moonlighting?
According to Etymonline, the term moonlighting refers to the practice of “holding a second job, especially at night” derived from the idea of working by the light of the moon. There is no clear evidence for when the word first came into use but the use of the term is becoming increasingly common today. Many part-time workers are already familiar with working multiple jobs at one go but the trend of full-time employees doing the same is a more common trend in recent years. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics summary indicates that the number of workers with multiple jobs in the U.S. has risen to 7.8 million in 2023.
A moonlighting employee might work in the same field as their main job—a digital design expert taking on freelance projects for customers other than their employer. A moonlighting employee might also take on a completely unrelated side job, such as a full-time lawyer taking to writing and content generation after work hours. Some moonlighting can have multiple side jobs, hard as it is to pull off successfully. Regardless of the dynamic, employees moonlighting at work have their reasons for doing it.
What Are the Benefits Experienced by Employee Moonlighting at Work?
Moonlighting employees either do what they do because of a want or a need. Either they want to spend their time on another job for varying reasons or they need to because they don’t have a choice. Both reasons for taking up side gigs are equally valid. More detailed reasons include:
- Free time: Depending on their positions, many people do have time on their hands, whether after work or over the weekends, to take up an additional job
- Diversification of income source: With layoffs on the rise, it is reassuring for employees to have alternate sources of income
- A desire for faster financial stability: A single job may not be enough to live on while also saving money
- Unexpected expenses: Sudden illness in the family, increased rents, damage to personal property, etc. are examples of sudden expenses that may require additional income
- Faster career growth: A resume looks a lot more filled in with more job experience and projects to your name
- Need for different skill sets: A full-time job is often a way to earn money while an employee gains enough financial stability to pursue their passion full-time
- Increased job satisfaction: People feel more secure and fulfilled making the most of their time and reapplying skills to something new
- Additional opportunities: If a job pays well but doesn’t provide additional growth opportunities, people often turn to external sources for growth—new tech knowledge, networking, hands-on experiences, etc.
What Are the Pitfalls of Moonlighting?
It is very evident that moonlight is appealing to employees and there are multiple reasons for it. From income to engagement, employee moonlighting at work may be much happier overall because they have the assurance of their needs being met one way or another. However, if you’ve ever worked a full-time job, you know the realities of burnout and that a job is never a nine-to-five investment. It often spills into your life in many other ways. Working multiple jobs can mean no breaks to recover from any of them.
- Mental fatigue and burnout: Constantly working with no breaks in between can leave you exhausted and completely depleted of energy
- Impact on physical health: Poor eating habits, compromised sleep schedule, constant high-alert state, low energy levels, etc can leave a lasting impact on health
- Poor work-life balance: Investing a majority of time in work will leave little time for friends and family
- Difficult with prioritization: Choosing what to prioritize can add to mental fatigue for employees moonlighting at work
- Mismanagement of time: With multiple deadlines and no way to coordinate them, can result in high workloads at the same time. It isn’t possible to tell your full-time employer to reduce your workload because of an external deadline
- Decline in the quality of your work: With so much stress and exhaustion, moonlighting employees can find it difficult to get anything done to the best of their abilities
- Conflict of interest: If the alternate jobs are competitors in the same industry, a moonlighting employee might have to work against their company’s best interests
- Misuse of company resources: Working similar jobs might lead to the use of resources provided by a company for another job, which can increase company expenses indirectly
- Solicitation of company’s clients: Moonlight employees might be tempted to reach out to a company’s network of partners and clients and advertise their side job, which can be damaging to the company
- Data security risk: Increased risk of giving away company trade secrets and sensitive data through human error—this is one of the main reasons for moonlighting policies
- Poor relations at work: Even if an employer doesn’t take action against moonlighting employees, they are likely to perceive the employee as a flight risk on the verge of quitting, leading to difficult work relations
Can a Company Enforce a Moonlighting Policy?
Nearly 5 percent of the U.S. workforce is made up of moonlighting employees and it is possible because there are no laws in the country against it. Employees are free to work multiple jobs if they choose to do it. In some cases, an employment contract signed at the start of employment at a company might specifically restrict an employee from seeing work outside of the company to protect the interest of the business as a whole.
However, these and similar non-compete agreements are not enforceable everywhere and depend on the state laws regarding their enforcement. This does not free employees to do as they please either. Employment in the U.S. is automatically “at will” and this means that either party can terminate the employment at any time. While this gives employees the freedom to quit at will, it also increases the possibility of a dissatisfied employer severing ties with an employee moonlighting at work. Unless the employee can prove that the termination was along discriminatory lines protected by the law, there is little that can be done to protest against the termination.
Employers do allow some amount of restraint in their choice to take action against moonlighting employees. Often, unless there are clear signs of the work quality being affected, a conflict of interest, or the company resources being misused, employers will often overlook an employee moonlighting at work.
Should a Company Have a Moonlighting Policy?
Designing an effective moonlighting policy is difficult and getting employees to sign legally binding documents in agreement with it is even harder. Many workers who aren’t even considering becoming moonlighting employees might reject an offer simply because they do not want to sign binding contracts and find the policy an unfair restriction of their personal freedom. Undeniably, what an employee does with their free time is their business.
Non-Compete Agreements
For employers who are worried about data leaks for specific roles where the employees handle very sensitive data, it can be much easier to employ a confidentiality agreement or a non-compete agreement to prevent the employee from working with direct competitors, while still allowing them the option to work in an unrelated field if they wish to do it.
Test Performance Quality
Ensuring clear guidelines for performance quality and employee evaluations, and then conducting regular assessments can provide a detailed snapshot of an employee’s performance. If their work is suffering, regardless of whether it’s caused by another job or disinterest in their work, action can be taken. Performance improvement plans (PIP) can be set into motion to address the quality of work, which is the main concern for the employer.
Developing Adjacent Policies
For other employees, employers might be better off working on adjacent company policies instead of looking to enforce a moonlighting policy on their workforce. Non-solicitation policies can be enforced to prevent employees from advertising their other business to anyone within the workplace. Similarly, guidelines can be clearly specified for the use of company resources to restrict misuse as well, even for moonlighting employees.
Providing Benefits to Existing Employees
If a company wants to stop its workforce from turning into moonlighting employees, then ensuring they have what they need at work can be a big step in the right direction. Employees do largely turn to outside work for financial assistance and paying employees fair wages should be a basic criterion. In addition, providing them with training and growth opportunities, fulfilling work experience, addressing their development, etc. can also help employees meet all the employment criteria and ensure their best interests are prioritized within the company itself. It’s a win for everyone involved.
Navigating the shifting winds of work and labor can be a difficult task but it is an essential one. Moonlighting employees have thrived for years and they will continue to do so, regardless of whether it lasts as a popular trend or not. Especially for those with financial needs or those pursuing passion projects outside of work, moonlight remains an essential experience and it is unlikely they will give it up. For employers who want a better grasp of the situation, it is important to consider why your employees are turning to moonlighting after work. If there is something that can be done to support them, it might be fruitful to consider trying it out.