The Impact of Overemployment and Moonlighting on Businesses and Steps to Help Arrive at a Strategy

Overemployment and employee moonlighting have become common practices for today's workforce. While employees may view juggling multiple jobs as a means to supplement their income or pursue personal interests, you may be wondering about its impact on your business. In this blog post, we will delve into the concept of overemployment and moonlighting from an employer's perspective, discuss the importance of having well-defined employee overemployment and moonlighting practices, and explore how you can better navigate this issue more effectively.

Moonlighting vs. Overemployment: What’s the Difference?

While moonlighting involves employees working side gigs after their primary shift ends, it is different from overemployment. Overemployed individuals may be working multiple jobs for different companies while on the clock at their primary place of employment. With predictions of more than 36 million employees working remotely by the year 2025 (Apollo Technical, May 2022), it’s easier than ever for more workers to be overemployed. 

While you need to be sensitive to the financial pressures your employees are facing that might drive them to pursue moonlighting or overemployment, it also is critical you address activity that could be detrimental to your organizational culture and productivity. 

An Employee Overemployment and Moonlighting Strategy Benefits Employers and Employees

Your organization may want to establish a comprehensive strategy addressing both moonlighting and overemployment. Such a strategy could serve as a framework for helping set expectations, promoting greater transparency, and helping manage potential conflicts of interest. Here are some key reasons why having a strategy in place can help:

1. Clearer Guidelines: A well-defined strategy helps outline what constitutes overemployment, the approval process, disclosure requirements, and restrictions or limitations. This clarity helps employees better understand the expectations and helps avoid misunderstandings.
    

2. More Transparency and Trust: A strategy can help promote more open communication, allowing employees to discuss their second jobs openly and seek approval when required. It can help build trust between you and your employees by fostering an environment of greater transparency.
    

3. Risk Protection: An employee overemployment strategy can help protect your organization from related liabilities by clearly outlining the company's stance on holding multiple jobs and helping ensure meeting regulations and requirements.
    

4. Greater Consistency: Having a strategy in place can help provide a more consistent treatment of employees, fostering a culture freer from potential biases or favoritism. It can also help set a standard that applies more uniformly across the organization.

Implementing an Effective Overemployment and Moonlighting Strategy 

To help you create a more effective employee strategy around overemployment and moonlighting, consider utilizing the following steps:

1. Define Overemployment and Moonlighting: Clearly outline what constitutes moonlighting and overemployment within the context of your organization. Specify whether it includes both paid and unpaid work, or if there are any exceptions or limitations.
    
2. Approval Process: Establish a procedure for employees to seek permission before engaging in secondary employment. Determine who is responsible for granting approvals and the criteria for evaluating requests, ensuring they align with the company's goals and values.
    
3. Confidentiality and Non-compete: Address issues related to confidentiality, intellectual property, and non-compete agreements to help protect the company's interests. Specify whether moonlighting activities can overlap with the employer's industry or create conflicts of interest.
    
4. Disclosures and Reporting: Possibly, require employees to disclose their secondary employment to the company. Consider establishing a reporting mechanism that allows employees to update their information regularly or seek approval for new moonlighting opportunities.
    
5. Time Management and Boundaries: Set expectations regarding time management, ensuring that employees' primary job responsibilities are not compromised by their secondary employment. Define boundaries, such as prohibiting moonlighting during regular working hours or on company premises.
    
6. Conflict Resolution: Consider including a process for resolving conflicts of interest that may arise due to moonlighting. Encourage employees to report any potential conflicts, and establish guidelines for addressing them in a fair and unbiased manner.
    
7. Regular Review and Updates: Periodically review and update your strategy to help accommodate changing business needs, requirements, or industry trends. Seek feedback from employees and managers to help ensure the policy remains relevant and effective.

If you think overemployed individuals may be impacting your company, Equifax might be able to help. Talent Report™ Work Inform can help you identify employees who may be working more than one full-time job simultaneously so you can make more informed decisions. Download the product sheet to learn more or contact us for a deeper dive.

The information provided is intended as general guidance and is not intended to convey any tax, benefits, or legal advice. For information pertaining to your company and its specific facts and needs, please consult your own tax advisor or legal counsel. Equifax Workforce Solutions provides services that can help employers reduce their compliance risks. Details on our provision of these services and related support will be contained in your services agreement. Links to sources may be to third party sites. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.