DailyPost 2187
MOONLIGHTING
Creating opportunity out of crisis is great and can keep you in good stead all your life. Surprising, every single good has a bad variant and can change the game in a manner not imagined. Covid-19 and work from home was a business crisis management act, to keep the world afloat. Work from home allowed the sanity that made bouncing back to work was not as painful as it could have been otherwise. In this new work from home architecture, as things started improving, and IT and other remote employees got comfortable with this new mode, they started looking for greener pastures that this mode could provide.
Today work from home mode of functioning is leaving behind a malaise, which companies are finding difficult to handle. In the pre-Covid-19 scenario single acts of this nature could have led to the firing of the employee in no time. In that physical work schedule, it was seemingly physically not doable and mind felt constricted to even imagine such scenarios. The scenario being talked about it called moonlighting. Today, it being talked about with full vigor by many top employers as it eating into the vitals of the long established employer – employee – job relationship. Moonlighting means taking up a second job, typically secretly and at night, in addition to one’s regular employment.
Today, it has reached a situation, where at times one fill not be able to find out as to which one is the regular job. Moonlighting is the act of working an extra job, especially without telling the main employer. You’ll lose the job if the boss found out you’ve been moonlighting. Is the concept of single employer full time job, with code of conduct, and stringent terms and conditions on the employees under severe stress? Side gigs are no more imaginary, it is on the verge of hitting the mainstream, unless the rot is stemmed. Wipro Chairman on Wednesday said that 300 people working with Wipro were working for one of its competitors at the same time.
He said that moonlighting is ”complete violation of integrity in its deepest form.” There are any number of companies employing variety of fact finding methods / investigation to find out the depth of this rot is their companies. ”No two timing – no moonlighting!” Infosys had send a strong and firm message to its employees recently. Dual employment is not permitted by any company rule and can lead only to termination. Employees have thrown the code of conduct to the winds. Is this a temporary phenomenon, which can be controlled by an iron fist? Or the changed scenario will keep providing lucrative opportunities? Are work, workplace and rules of work being de-facto transformed? Is this the future of work. No one knows which way the tide will turn, for sure it started with lust for money and lack of integrity, credibility and loyalty. Does business ethic not apply to the employees?
MOONLIGHITNG CAN BE THE FUTURE OR NEMESIS OF WORK, DEPENDING ON WHICH WAY YOU LOOK AT IT!
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.