In yesterday’s Advisor, consultant Bridget Miller shared some of the upsides for employers that allow employees to moonlight; today, Miller reveals the flip side of the coin—as well as some tips for navigating tricky policy waters.
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The Cons of Allowing Your Employees to Moonlight
As with any policy decision, there are cons to consider as well. Here are some of the potential downsides (or employer fears) related to moonlighting:
- Many employers are wary that employees may try to work for a competitor and/or divulge information that should be kept confidential, such as internal processes or program details.
- There is a concern that it will reduce the employee’s ability to take on overtime should any extra work be required after normal business hours.
- Employers are also concerned that a moonlighting or freelancing employee could eventually take away some of the employer’s business if the employee is working in a related capacity elsewhere.
- There is a fear that the employee will begin using work hours to fulfill obligations to the other job.
There is also a concern that an employee may be more likely to become burnt out or overextended because of too many obligations. Lack of sleep, inattentiveness, or inability to focus are all related concerns.
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Solutions to Ease Fears
Given these lists of pros and cons, the solution many employers opt for is to allow moonlighting but to create a policy that restricts it in such a way that many of the concerns above are addressed. (Of course, this should only be done after checking the legal limitations of such a policy.)
Typically, an employer may seek to prohibit actions that could interfere with their business or with the employee’s ability to perform his or her job duties effectively. It’s best not to be overly restrictive and instead focus on the outcomes you’re looking to avoid. For example, some employers allow moonlighting as long as it:
- Does not interfere with the employee’s work duties/hours.
- Does not interfere with the employee’s ability to meet deadlines or goals.
- Does not represent a conflict of interest, such as working for a competitor or with the same customers or suppliers in an inappropriate way. (If the organization has a noncompete agreement, it would also apply here.)
- Does not divulge any confidential or protected information.
- Is discussed with the original employer in advance to ensure there will be no conflict of interest or other problems.
Some employers go an extra step and request or require employees to get advance approval of a secondary job before taking it.
Does your organization have a policy on moonlighting? Where do you stand? What is the business rationale behind your policy parameters? Such policies are just one of the many facets human resources has to consider—HR never sleeps! You need a go-to resource, and our editors recommend the “everything-HR-in-one” website, HR.BLR.com®. As an example of what you will find, here are some policy recommendations concerning e-mail, excerpted from a sample policy on the website:
- Privacy. The director of information services can override any individual password and, therefore, has access to all e-mail messages in order to ensure compliance with company policy. This means that employees do not have an expectation of privacy in their company e-mail or any other information stored or accessed on company computers.
- E-mail review. All e-mail is subject to review by management. Your use of the e-mail system grants consent to the review of any of the messages to or from you in the system in printed form or in any other medium.
- Solicitation. In line with our general policy, e-mail must not be used to solicit for outside business ventures, personal parties, social meetings, charities, membership in any organization, political causes, religious causes, or other matters not connected to the company’s business.
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We should point out that this is just one of hundreds of sample policies on the site. (You’ll also find analyses of all the HR-related laws and the current critical issues, plus downloadable job descriptions, and complete training materials for hundreds of HR topics.)
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