The rising wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in the early 2020s forced the corporate world to opt for ‘work from home’ (WFH) widely. Since then, the trend has been in continuance as about 20 to 25% of the workers are working from home representing four to five times more remote workstation than before the pandemic. However, WFH culture has also led to many ethical concerns for private organizations such as quiet quitting, quiet firing, hustle culture, etc. with moonlighting being one of the most prominent concerns.
Moonlighting refers to the practice of taking up secondary jobs after regular work hours. This secondary job is taken without the employers’ knowledge and is usually the side job taken at night or on the weekends.
There have been various arguments in favour of practicing moonlighting, such as:

• Personal choice: After the company’s shift timings, a person is free to do whatever he/she wants to do as a passion project or a side job.
• Change of career: People who are planning to change their career stream take up a second job to get familiarised with it. It provides them the experience they need to later obtain lucrative employment opportunities in that specific sector if one does not have a formal foundation in it.
• Honing skills: It not only helps in gaining earning extra income but also encourages employees to hone their skills.

However, there are several concerns regarding moonlighting, including:

• Ethical concerns: There is no overarching law, which prohibits a person from doing multiple jobs. However, many organizations hold moonlighting against the core values of their organizations and consider it as cheating. Conflict of interest: An employee with a similar nature of job may spark confidentiality issues as he/she may disclose private or sensitive information to the rival company.
• Use of company resources: Employees may use company resources like laptops, software, etc. for their second job which increases operating expenses.
• Exhaustion faced by employees: Employees who double up their working hours may experience physical and mental tiredness, which may cause them to become distracted and unproductive, and thereby neglect job responsibilities.
• No work-life balance: Working two jobs can be hectic and does not provide a proper work-life balance. This can be a big disadvantage for people with a family, as they will not be able to give adequate time to family members. It can also increase stress for employees leading to many health problems.

Moonlighting should be a personal choice unless it affects the efficiency and integrity of the employees’ primary work duty. Further, it is crucial for employees to carefully check their employment contract with their principal job provider to ensure compliance with any moonlighting policy/policies.