Moonlighting: Old trend coming to light now

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Moonlighting: Old trend coming to light now

 

Wipro sacked 300 employees on the ground of a ‘breach of integrity and employment contract’. The employees were found to be working for Wipro’s competitor, even when they were on Wipro’s payroll. That’s what is termed ‘moonlighting’. Moonlighting is the practice of an employee working for another employer even when he is full-time employed with one employer. Many IT companies raised concerns against moonlighting and warned the employees of the harsh repercussions if found to be involved in it. The Pandemic and Working from home are considered the factors which led to the prevalence of moonlighting practices. This is not limited to specific geography but is observed across the globe. Industry veterans like IBM, Wipro, and Infosys termed it ‘unethical’ and cautioned employees to read the employment contract before accepting the assignment outside the organization. This thought implies that the employee has no discretion to utilize his/her time even beyond working hours. If entertainment, volunteering, etc. are acceptable activities beyond working hours, why are the activities leading to the second source of income, not acceptable activities? Is it the insecurity on part of the employer, decreasing his/her bargaining power as employees with another source of income are not completely dependent on them for their income?  The employers argue that moonlighting reduces the productivity of the employee but why could it not be considered as an addition to the learning curve and increased exposure leading to better efficiency and effectiveness?

There is another group of industry professionals who consider that employment is for the number of hours that is agreed upon by the employee and the employer has no right over the employee’s activities beyond his/her working hours. Swiggy, institutionalized the first-of-its-kind policy, allowing ‘moonlighting’ to the extent that it does not interfere with the productivity of employees and does not have any conflict of interest. It is a welcome step. Institutionalizing such practice is a sign of trust and transparency between employer & employee and relieves the employee from the pressure of morality and ethics.

The institutionalization and inclusion of policy to allow the employee to work for another source of income is the wise solution to this issue. This is the future of work and organizational policies need to be modified and clarified to facilitate the employee to take up assignments outside the organization. Having said that, it is equally important to draft the policies with much caution without leaving room for manipulation and politicking.

What do you think, if an entrepreneur can dive into multiple businesses to increase his/her earnings, why should employees be devoid of the experience to plunge into different waters?

 

 


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