The Industry Dilemma: Allow Ethical Moonlighting Or Lose To Gig Working?

NHRD, a leading HR industry forum in India, had organized an HR Conclave to discuss the future of the workplace and the unfolding methods of work. However, the discussion quickly segued to the problem of moonlighting. For many HR leaders, the dilemma was whether they should strictly enforce single employment laws, risk the pain of increased attrition in a talent-short market, or embrace moonlighting by allowing employees to acknowledge it and define boundaries in which moonlighting could be allowed. The COVID-19 pandemic required most organizations to enable a work-from-home/work-from-anywhere approach. The enforced necessity became a habit for many employees, who preferred the new flexibility. However, with organizations wanting to bring employees back to the office, there was resistance due to an unexpected reason. The work-from-home environment had allowed moonlighting for a few employees, who undertook gigs and even permanent assignments with other employers. This phenomenon is widespread among IT/ITeS and other consulting/knowledge industries. The motivations for these assignments were additional income and increased learning and exposure. While dual employment was not legally allowed in India, employment contracts enforcing this rule and penalizing employees led to increased talent loss. Employees were happy to leave the organization for less formal or rigid work environments, resulting in higher attrition. Organizations' dilemma was to reject moonlighting through strict contracts, employee monitoring, and informal checks or formalize it through making moonighting "ethical". Still, measures rejecting moonlighting could dilute the culture of trust and increase attrition, not just of the moonlighting employees. However, organizations could embrace this phenomenon and formalize moonlighting through appropriate policies and guidelines, which led to increased risk to employee commitment, ensuring productivity, information and security risk, and the organizations' capability in predictable client servicing.