"Daylighting"

[Journeyman79]

Great comments to read through! I'm having a personal dilemma currently trying to make just such a decision.

I currently make a healthy living well into the six figures as salary, plus bonuses on top of that. Recently I was solicited for another executive position offering a nearly identical comp plan. Because of my familiarity with my current position, I feel I could actually manage both and double my earnings. However, I'm quite certain that neither employer would want me working a secondary position. My current position requires national travel, but the alternate position does not. I can picture it being slightly difficult to balance that.

My question for myself which I'm having a hardtime answering is if I should take the alternate job without disclosing it to my otehr employer and vice versa? I've heard this referred to as "daylighting?" Has anyone reading this done this--work two full time jobs during the same hours? How successful have you been or still are at it? Like I've read, I would have a goal of paying off my home with the additional earnings. Our mortgage balance is over $500k, but with two kids and knowing if I could get the biggest amount of debt my wife and I have paid in full within the next three years before we're 40, I am considering taking the risk, although it may not necessarily be ethical?

Just not certain what to do when my mind and morals are pointing two different directions?

[disneysteve]

OP, I moved this to its own thread rather than tacked onto a thread that is over 2 years old.

[kork13]

There are alot of considerations here, and BLUF, I'd say that it's almost certainly not worth the extreme stress and demands on your time that would be required. Ethically, it's treacherous as well.

On the ethics side, are the companies competitors in any way? If so, it is absolutely unethical, if not potentially illegal, or at least a breach of contract. Then, of course, you would be going into it intending to lie about your employment. Also, many companies bar employees from working on other jobs during "company time." In this case, you'd be doing that daily. The entire idea is unethical. The only way I would consider it is to have ONE job, then offer your services as a contracted consultant to the other company, while making your actual employer aware of the side job.

On a different tack, do you really think you can balance two full time executive jobs (along with all of the associated duties and responsibilities) without losing your mind, marriage, happiness, health, and everything else you value? It's not all about money. You would be so over-tasked and over-stressed that it could destroy you and your family.

I would strongly recommend you pick one job or the other and stick to it. If you feel that you deserve better compensation for your efforts, play the companies off of eachother, and negotiate for an improved compensation package. But don't compromise your ethics and everything you value simply in order to make more money. It's not worth it.

[dawnwes]

Is the money worth not being as available to your family, not going to your kids' ball games, and spending your precious free time sleeping?

I can't imagine wanting my husband to work two full time jobs.

Dawn

[bjl584]

If you get caught you won't have a job at all because both firms will probably fire you.

It may be a better idea to take on freelance work on the side that does not compete with your primary career.

[snafu]

Have you considered whether you work to live or do you live to work? What are your values? Some people are tagged 'work-a-holics' preferring the challenges and compliments from work to the effort required to develop personal relationships. Are you devoted to your family and personal relationships or is money more important to you?

[jpg7n16]

You make well into the 6 figures. You have a wife and kids. You're trying to keep a roof over their head.

Why on earth would you jeapordize a great position like that?


Run it by your HR/compliance. See what solutions you can work out between firms. I mean if you're really that valuable to company 2, maybe they would consent to a part time role of what they originally wanted.


If you feel like you have to hide what you're doing, that's probably a good sign that you shouldn't be doing it.

[f0rgiv3n]

I've seen multiple people over my career try this and they ended up losing one of the jobs. That job they lost was also a burned bridge. I would recommend sticking with one job and not attempt to balance the two.

[YLTL_Dan]

Wow, does anyone on here actually do this?? I can't imagine trying to take on two full time jobs. I think it's a disservice to both employers because there's no way I could fully focus while splitting my time between two companies, bosses, clients, etc.

[disneysteve]

I wonder how this is even possible. How can you do 2 jobs at once? You can't be in 2 places at once. What happens when job#1 schedules a meeting that conflicts with duties of job #2? What do you tell them? You can't be at job #2 doing work for job #1 or making phone calls for job #1. I guess if both are work-from-home positions it would be easier to pull it off but it would still be unfair to both employers because you wouldn't be giving either 100% of your time, focus or effort. It just sounds wrong all around.