The Divided Perspectives of Moonlighting and the GIG Workforce

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the practice of “moonlighting” or working other jobs to supplement income has grown in popularity and extent. Due to issues including conflicts of interest, poor job performance, or misusing an employer's resources, the majority of businesses in India do not permit their employees to hold down supplementary employment. Moonlighting is the term used to describe the practice of working a second job for extra money outside of regular business hours. The work-from-home (WFH) concept is credited with popularizing moonlighting among white-collar workers in India. It has also raised questions about corporate compliance. Many businesses would rather not allow employees to work multiple jobs, but a few firms, like Swiggy, are formally permitting employees to moonlight under certain circumstances. We discover that people take several jobs as a means of dealing with their family's financial issues or rising financial commitments as well as to meet non-financial priorities in contemporary life. Primary data have been gathered using the reliability-tested questionnaire as the instrument to test the significance. The method used to select samples from the population is convenient sampling. The article's final conclusion is that employees are free to work a second job in their spare time, but not for personal gain. Finally, the quantity and forms of moonlighting may depend on the individuals’ financial and non-financial motivations as well as the overall number of hours they spend at their second job.