Commentary: Why I allow my employees to moonlight — and why other companies should too

Office workers in the Central Business District at Raffles Place on Sept 22, 2021.
One day in 2007, an employee came to me with a bold request: He wanted to take on a side job.
My immediate instinct as a chief executive was to refuse. “No moonlighting” was then the norm throughout most of Asia.
But when I thought about it some more, I couldn’t think of a strong enough reason.
He might have less time to focus on his job, but that’s also true of people with family obligations. More work outside the company might tire him out more and increase the risk of him making mistakes, but no worse than after a heavy night of drinking — should we prohibit all alcohol consumption too?
I soon realised that my stance on moonlighting was based not on grounded logic, but on negative stigma already prevalent in working culture. Did I really want to limit this employee’s options for growth and self-fulfilment on these grounds?
In the end, I decided to allow it.
Since then, side jobs have not only become an integral part of our corporate identity and human-resources policy but also a valuable recruiting tool.
A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH WORK
Moonlighting is becoming increasingly popular in Singapore, with over 13 per cent of employees participating in it extensively in 2023, reports job platform Indeed.
While the primary driver is rising costs of living, other oft-cited reasons include a desire to retire early, learn new skills, or engage in a creative endeavour.
Side jobs present a whole host of opportunities for employees. For example, engineers might develop skills they wouldn’t be able to acquire by working only for my company.
Content creators can improve their creative abilities by taking on various external writing, filming, or editing projects. Managers can deepen their understanding of business trends by working with startups.
All of these are concrete examples I have personally seen.
Despite this, moonlighting — while not illegal — is still frowned upon by most employers, and many companies include a clause against it in their employment contracts.
Bosses worry about divided loyalty, arguing that a side job prevents employees from being fully invested in their primary job. Someone working multiple jobs can’t possibly be productive in all of them, they claim.
These are reasonable concerns. However, given how far we’ve come in the last two decades, they seem to stem from an outdated perception of the optimal relationship between workers and their workplaces.
The primary goal of recruitment is hiring competent people who are both willing and able to do a good job.
To this end, should employers aim only to squeeze every last bit of productivity out of their employees? Or should they aim instead to encourage their workers to develop motivation to contribute to the best of their ability and compensate them accordingly?
The latter approach is proving to be a superior way to guarantee long-term worker engagement.
The proof is in my company’s low turnover rate, which hovers around 5 per cent — far below the rate of 15 per cent we were seeing before allowing our employees to moonlight, as well as the global average voluntary turnover rate of 14.5 per cent reported by financial services company Mercer in its Asia-Pacific 2023 survey.
EMPLOYEE FREEDOM DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING GOES
Allowing moonlighting is not the same as saying employees can do whatever they want. My company’s stance is to allow side jobs, not actively encourage them.
Even flexible work environments must have reasonable, common-sense limits. For instance, employees still have to abide by national laws regarding work hours. Businesses would also do well to prohibit employees from simultaneously working for a competitor.
There are also more situational limitations which managers and employees must work out together.
If someone is struggling with their current workload, can they justify taking on another role elsewhere? In some cases, they may have to reduce their hours or responsibilities — how should this impact compensation?
In my own experience, it’s worth noting that most employees are not actually interested in moonlighting: Only around 10 per cent of our staff report having a secondary source of income.
However, for that minority, the benefits of moonlighting are undeniable and too often overlooked by employers.
As workplace flexibility continues to climb to the top of many people’s career priorities, top talents expect more from their employers.
For some people, a “no side jobs” clause may be a deal breaker; for many companies, it may mean shutting out good workers who simply want to cultivate new talents or experience several types of work.
THE PILLARS OF AUTONOMY
With the global trend of “quiet quitting” set to continue into 2024, employers need to think about how to better motivate employees to show initiative and be self-reliant.
In this vein, it doesn’t make sense to impose arbitrary limitations on how they build and enrich their careers.
What’s far more important is to adapt an organisation’s culture to better accommodate increased flexibility and worker autonomy.
First, emphasise transparency and communication. Open up channels and processes for anyone with a side job to communicate that information with their managers and team members.
Openness is key: If employees take time off during work hours, whether for a side job or a private engagement, have them register their absence clearly in shared company calendars or rosters.
Second, consider valuing results and output over “traditional” metrics such as hours spent at work. Letting employees select their workstyle and compensating them based on results and market value can offer greater adaptability.
Finally, flexibility needs to be supported by the right workplace tools. One of the main reasons we’ve seen a trend towards more diverse workstyles is how far digitalisation and remote work software have come. Side jobs are easier to manage when you don’t have to worry about falling out of the loop in your main job.
By enhancing these three elements, companies can redesign their workplace culture where flexibility and adaptability are critical to building a resilient and successful business.
It would be unwise to squander talent and opportunities because we can’t stop clinging to the rigid beliefs and practices of the past.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Yoshihisa Aono is the chief executive officer of groupware company Cybozu Inc and its subsidiary Kintone.