Double Dipping

[bjl584]

I read an article a while back stating that a rising trend during Covid were people who found themselves working remotely were going out and picking up second full time jobs and working both simultaneously.
Sure enough, there is a website and forum dedicated to doing it full with tips on how to pull it off.

The reason I bring it up is because recently two employees where I work were caught doing this.
They were given a choice as to which job they wanted (as opposed to just being let go), and they chose the other job.

I'm wondering if anyone has heard of this or experienced it.
It seems easy enough to get away with, depending on what your job is.
If you are good at managing your time, and keeping everything straight, then all you need is a second computer.

[ua_guy]

Seems like most employers have policy on the books that requires notification of any other jobs their employees are working or take during the course of employment. The company is trying to eliminate conflicts of interest first and foremost, but if someone takes two full-time jobs, even if there is no conflict of interest, you can see how that might end poorly for all involved.

I haven't seen what you are describing recently, bjl584, but I saw it during the recession era, same idea. When I worked as an adjuster, there were a couple of guys who tried to take on a 2nd full-time position with another insurance company. Damage adjusters are typically "remote" and are out writing estimates all day at shops and people's houses, so they thought they could get away with stacking their claims load and working for two different companies...carry two different phones, and two computers... Claims adjusting is a small world, and it didn't end well for the employee or employer.

[bjl584]

Seems like most employers have policy on the books that requires notification of any other jobs their employees are working or take during the course of employment. The company is trying to eliminate conflicts of interest first and foremost, but if someone takes two full-time jobs, even if there is no conflict of interest, you can see how that might end poorly for all involved.

I haven't seen what you are describing recently, bjl584, but I saw it during the recession era, same idea. When I worked as an adjuster, there were a couple of guys who tried to take on a 2nd full-time position with another insurance company. Damage adjusters are typically "remote" and are out writing estimates all day at shops and people's houses, so they thought they could get away with stacking their claims load and working for two different companies...carry two different phones, and two computers... Claims adjusting is a small world, and it didn't end well for the employee or employer.

I can definitely see that happening where someone's name gets out there and is recognized by another company.
A lot of industries are niche.

There is a woman on the website that I was referring to that has 6 full time jobs.
She somehow is able to juggle it all and is earning over $600K
Crazy...

[ua_guy]

I can definitely see that happening where someone's name gets out there and is recognized by another company.
A lot of industries are niche.

There is a woman on the website that I was referring to that has 6 full time jobs.
She somehow is able to juggle it all and is earning over $600K
Crazy...

I mean, if you think about it... the typical corporate job is pretty squishy in the first 6 months. Lots of introductions, trainings, development plans, so it would be pretty easy to skate by initially. But if each of her jobs is paying $100k, I'd think a little more skill and contribution would be involved.

It's also pretty typical in a corporate job to be double-booked or have to choose what meeting to attend at a specified time slot, like 2-3pm. I can't imagine managing a calendar for 6 different jobs, each with conflicting invites. Imagine giving an update to your team for the wrong job...they'd think you were speaking in tongues!!

[disneysteve]

I definitely admire the ingenuity. Many jobs, as hard as we often make them out to be, do have a lot of fluff and downtime built in. If you've got the drive and organizational skills to use that downtime to do another job, good for you. As long as you are performing both jobs well and aren't violating your employment agreement, go for it.

[bjl584]

I definitely admire the ingenuity. Many jobs, as hard as we often make them out to be, do have a lot of fluff and downtime built in. If you've got the drive and organizational skills to use that downtime to do another job, good for you. As long as you are performing both jobs well and aren't violating your employment agreement, go for it.

It's funny.
My employer had no policy or anything in writing concerning this.
As soon as the two employees got caught an addendum to the employee handbook was sent out to everyone concerning doing this.
It is now against policy.

[Fishindude77]

Does not surprise me at all.
Have never been a fan of sending employees home to work, and / or a bunch of unnecessary after hours work related calls, texts or emails.
A lot to be said for going to work someplace and doing your work, then going home and leaving work behind you. I think the separation between work life and home life is important.

No doubt the recent work from home trend is shaking a lot of this stuff out and employers are realizing they can probably do without many of these people and still get things done.

[ua_guy]

It's funny.
My employer had no policy or anything in writing concerning this.
As soon as the two employees got caught an addendum to the employee handbook was sent out to everyone concerning doing this.
It is now against policy.

Same thing with going remote during Covid. Some employees took their temporary "remote" status as permission to move anywhere, including across the country. lol. Several pages have since been added to the employee handbook!!

[disneysteve]

No doubt the recent work from home trend is shaking a lot of this stuff out and employers are realizing they can probably do without many of these people and still get things done.

There may be some of that. However I think there is a lot more of employers realizing that remote work increases productivity, increases worker satisfaction, and decreases overhead costs. Many businesses have gone permanently remote or at least made that an option for those who want it. It's allowing businesses to shrink their physical space as they no longer need huge office complexes which is saving them millions. We're already seeing a lot of vacant office space and there will likely be even more as leases expire and companies don't renew them.

[bjl584]

There may be some of that. However I think there is a lot more of employers realizing that remote work increases productivity, increases worker satisfaction, and decreases overhead costs.

Some of that I agree with, but there are two sides to every coin.

Depending on the industry, for every employee who is now remote, there might be another who still has to report to work.
The person who still goes into the workplace is now burdened with the extra task of supporting the remote worker.
Something as simple as "can you go out to the warehouse and see if we have item X in stock?"
Multiply those little requests by 20 remote workers to each employee in the building, repeat it everyday, and now you have a situation where folks who go into work are unhappy, productivity is lost, stress is up, and ultimately they might quit.

[disneysteve]

Some of that I agree with, but there are two sides to every coin.

Depending on the industry, for every employee who is now remote, there might be another who still has to report to work.
The person who still goes into the workplace is now burdened with the extra task of supporting the remote worker.
Something as simple as "can you go out to the warehouse and see if we have item X in stock?"
Multiply those little requests by 20 remote workers to each employee in the building, repeat it everyday, and now you have a situation where folks who go into work are unhappy, productivity is lost, stress is up, and ultimately they might quit.

Definitely. Some jobs are much better suited for remote work than others. I know a lot of people whose jobs consist of little more than driving into the office only to sit at their computer all day and then drive home. A job like that can be done more efficiently remotely. If there is a physical presence required, like in your warehouse example, then no, those folks shouldn't be remote.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Depends because they could easily be sued for non-compete or for sharing trade secrets. I would guess the two jobs would be overlapping? And having proprietary information could be a problem?

[bjl584]

Depends because they could easily be sued for non-compete or for sharing trade secrets. I would guess the two jobs would be overlapping? And having proprietary information could be a problem?

That could be an issue.

The two individuals at my work who were caught were working a second job that was in a completely different industry, so no issues with trade secrets or non-compete.
The issue was that they were doing both jobs simultaneously, which is an ethical issue.
They should have been spending their time working for employer A, but they were actually focused on doing work for employer B, and vise-versa.
There would have been no issue if they were working for employer B at night or on the weekends, but it was overlapping as you alluded to.

[disneysteve]

The issue was that they were doing both jobs simultaneously, which is an ethical issue.
They should have been spending their time working for employer A, but they were actually focused on doing work for employer B, and vise-versa.

So? How many of us truly have jobs, especially computer-based jobs, where we are fully occupied with the job every minute of the day? People chat, text their friends, read their email, watch YouTube, post to Facebook, eat, shop online, and do various other things unrelated to the job they are at. Heck, I'm made thousands of posts to Savingadvice while I was working. If all of that "wasted" time was instead spent working another job, how is that any different? As long as you are meeting the requirements and expectations of each job and not violating any contract terms, I'm really not sure I see an ethical issue here. We are told our time should all be focused on our job, but the reality is that a lot of times there simply isn't anything job-related that we need to be doing.

[bjl584]

So? How many of us truly have jobs, especially computer-based jobs, where we are fully occupied with the job every minute of the day? People chat, text their friends, read their email, watch YouTube, post to Facebook, eat, shop online, and do various other things unrelated to the job they are at. Heck, I'm made thousands of posts to Savingadvice while I was working. If all of that "wasted" time was instead spent working another job, how is that any different? As long as you are meeting the requirements and expectations of each job and not violating any contract terms, I'm really not sure I see an ethical issue here. We are told our time should all be focused on our job, but the reality is that a lot of times there simply isn't anything job-related that we need to be doing.

I agree with you.
I'm just playing devil's advocate.

Our HR had a problem with what they were doing. Not me.