TL;DR.
For all the benefits that remote working has brought, there’s no arguing about the fact that having employees and collaborators working exclusively from home has brought some new situations. One of them being the trend of taking on second jobs – or “overemployment”.
Regardless of anyone’s position in this, the important thing is that this is a current phenomenon which attracts many discussions and we are here for it. Keep in mind, this is not a discussion about side gigs, this is not a discussion about control. It is a discussion about ethics, availability, legal matters, burnout, performance.
Context
The trend of taking on second jobs – also known as “overemployment” – has been spreading in many corners of the online world since the pandemic; there are even Reddit forums and websites dedicated to helping remote workers (mainly tech workers) find second jobs and hide them from their employers.
Of course, some might see it as a new form of deception and not something an ethical person would do. Others might argue that workers should be free to take on additional jobs provided they can deliver consistent performance. Some voices say that if someone is capable of this and is doing it successfully, that they should be promoted not fired. And others think that the juggling of jobs sounds just like a nightmare: reference the wrong project or use the wrong email and you’re done.
What is it
Basically, full-time employees and collaborators are paid to perform their job for a given amount of time (usually 8 hours, sometimes more.) So, if someone is working remotely and juggling two jobs during the same time span, it means that, theoretically, they are not working their full-time quota for either of the jobs.
In theory, it should mean that they are not performing optimally with either, and in some cases, can even be detrimental to the overall success of both companies.
On the other hand, if an employee is doing both jobs efficiently, meeting all deadlines for both positions, it could (generally) mean two things:
- They are experienced at what they do, and they can do things in less time than the average employee working the same job.
- Their task list isn’t challenging enough for their capacity.
It’s all relative, of course. In a startup, for example, every person wears multiple hats. So, if one of the employees decides to double down and take on a second job, it might affect the overall performance of the company as a whole (especially if that employee is involved in multiple projects and other people in the team depend on them). Moreover, the entire culture of a startup suffers by these half-measures.
Some employers who felt deceived by their employees or collaborators are sharing a number of potential ‘red flag’ behaviors for other employers to watch out for and noted that while none of them were by themselves an indication of a problem…taken together they may indicate an “overemployed”.
‘Red flag’ behaviors:
- Employees and collaborators are making their LinkedIn profile private
- Not attending company activities, such as team building, hackathons, workshops and quarterly presentations
- Having their screen turned off in meetings
- Slow response times on Slack and email
- Frequently late to or absent for meetings with no explanation
- Experience working for very large companies, where it may be easier to mask activity/inactivity
Why is it relevant
About a year after the quarantine, a study showed that people working from home are taking naps, dating, shopping online and doing side hustles on company time. Around 50% of the respondents to the survey said that they’ve worked for another company, while on the clock with their employer.
Outside of the office and watchful eyes of supervisors and nosey co-workers, the multi-jobbers “toggle between two laptops” and calendars. It’s almost a third or fourth job to juggle everything. At times, you need to log into two meetings at once. Use time off from one job to work on projects for the other role. Navigate the never-ending Zoom meetings. Keep track of your LinkedIn profile. Remember who you are sending emails and texts to, so as not to mix up people and send an important document to the wrong company executive.
Libby Sander, assistant professor of organizational behavior at Bond University, believes that as remote work has become more common, so has the practice of exploiting it in this way. “It’s hard to get exact figures but it is on the rise, particularly in technology jobs,” she says. “If you’re signing off the timesheet, saying that you’ve put in a number of hours that you haven’t, there’s more than harm,” she said. “It’s highly unethical and illegal”.
Some argue that the “overemployed” operate by the same “cold hard logic” that businesses do, and that their deception is no worse than the way companies treat their workers; capitalism encourages profit maximization so they believe they are simply playing the game without judgment.
The “players” say that they generally don’t put in more than 40 hours a week for both jobs. They are unrepentant. Post-financial crisis, massive layoffs during the Covid-19 outbreak, the lack of loyalty from large corporations and watching the billionaires mint more billions during the pandemic, they feel fine with playing the system too.
For a substantial share of workers, holding multiple jobs seems to be temporary in nature; across the countries under comparison, after two years, about half of the initial multiple jobholders made the transition to single jobholder, unemployment or inactivity. Perhaps, for many workers, multiple jobholding does not necessarily come with either clear enrichment or depletion effects but is rather ‘just’ a phase in their overall employment biography.
Now, if you find yourself juggling two jobs or prospecting the idea, do yourself an ethical check and ask yourself the hard questions:
- Is there a conflict of interest?
- Is there anything in your employment/collaborator contract against it?
- Is anything illegal?
- Does it interfere with your ability to do your job in an optimal way?
- Are you subjecting yourself to a risk of burnout? (because usually this risk is really high)
- What drives you to do this? (because usually this is a reflection of a short-time thinking: “6 more months of this juggle and I am out” or “once I buy that I am out”).
Pro
Overall, successfully managing two developer jobs involves meticulous planning, effective communication, technical proficiency, and a commitment to delivering quality work. It requires discipline, adaptability and a proactive approach to navigate challenges and ensure success in both roles.
You may see yourself as highly capable to do this if you:
Have a proven track record of success: A history of delivering successful projects under tight deadlines or in challenging environments serves as a strong argument. Previous accomplishments demonstrate the developer’s ability to manage workload and deliver results consistently.
Use the same technologies on both jobs: Documenting code changes, project updates, and technical documentation is necessary for both jobs. When there is just a matter of switching laptops, but the work remains pretty much the same, you could see why this makes sense.
Have been with one of the companies and role for a couple of years now. And so you are reasonably competent and efficient with their work; ability to work smarter, not harder.
Have acquired some specialized skills, allowing you to land roles that let you set your own schedule, minimizing inbound meetings in at least one of the two jobs.
Have good discipline. And you are a great communicator and have the ability to compartmentalize context switching.
Con
It’s important to note that while these strategies might help temporarily manage a dual-job situation, the long-term feasibility and ethical considerations should also be carefully evaluated. Maintaining high productivity and quality of work for two full-time roles simultaneously is challenging and may not be sustainable without compromising one’s well-being or the quality of work delivered.
Professional Integrity: Holding two full-time positions can be seen as a lack of professional integrity. Employers trust that employees will devote their working hours to fulfilling their job responsibilities to the best of their abilities.
Divided Loyalties: When working for two companies, especially in the same industry, there is a risk of divided loyalties. A developer might be faced with situations where the interests of one employer conflict with those of the other, making it challenging to remain impartial and objective.
Diminished Performance: Balancing two jobs can lead to burnout and reduced performance. This can result in lower quality of work for both employers, which is unfair to both parties who expect full commitment and optimal performance.
Practical problems with this practice:
- You can’t attend necessary appointments or meetings for one because they conflict with appointments or meetings for the other.
- You can’t complete work assignments for one because of the demands of the other.
- There is a conflict of interest between one employer and the other: this often depends on the field or industry.
- It becomes a problem when you become unreachable to your full-time colleagues.
Conclusion
Overall, we might say that the trend challenges traditional ideas about work and productivity. Companies will likely need to adapt their policies to address overemployment’s growth. The work world continues rapidly evolving.
Also, employers are getting better at kicking out unproductive people faster now. Regular performance reviews from leads, managers, and peers are also critical. If someone underperforms long-term, it’s a bad sign regardless. But we often make excuses to keep people. In the end, it might all be resumed by having an open dialogue and establishing boundaries on both ends; but it can be done as long as all parties are thoughtful, honest, transparent and considerate.
Sources:
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-tech-ceo-fired-two-engineers-for-having-second-full-time-jobs-warns-theyre-part-of-a-new-trend/
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/double-trouble-success-having-two-more-remote-jobs-wrong-yarooms/
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-21/overemployed-working-multiple-full-time-jobs/103464508
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/08/15/the-remote-trend-of-working-two-jobs-at-the-same-time-without-both-companies-knowing/
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1024258920985417
