I read an interesting blog post the other day about fear of the blogger’s employer finding out they blogged. My initial reaction was that I didn’t agree, but after reading through the post, I could see some merit in their thoughts (I would link to the post but honestly I can’t remember where I read it).
So, it got me thinking – my philosophy of developing multiple income streams essentially means work AND do side jobs. And some employers really would frown on it. So, I decided to do a bit of research on the topic, and would love to hear your thoughts at the end!
Does Your Employer Allow Moonlighting?
Almost all companies require their employees to sign non-compete agreements, or even if you don’t actually sign one, it is usually part of a code of conduct or something similar that you agree to as terms of being hired.
However, when it comes to working a side job that is not related to your line of work, most employers allow it as long as it doesn’t interfere or detract from your ability to do your day job.
The tricky part is making sure that nothing of your side job is related to your employer’s business. If it is, any work you do for your side job could be considered the property of your employer. If you think your idea competes, and its just a side job, don’t do it. If you think it will be the next Facebook, consult an attorney!
Just Because It’s Legal, Is It Right?
Just because it is allowed by your employer, should you actually have a side job? If you already do, should you share with your employer or co-workers?
In most instances, I would refrain from sharing the tales of your side job at work – your employer could mistake your conversation about your side job as lack of commitment to the company. While they can’t legally do anything, it could breed negative thoughts come review time or if you’re up for a promotion.
Some Basic Side Job Rules
If you’re going to have a main job and a side job, here are some basic rules to follow:
- Full Time Job is Always First
- Follow All Company Policies
- Never Compete With Your Employer
If you follow those rules, and your employer allows it, you should be free to take all the side jobs you want!
Readers, what has been your experience with having a full-time job and a side job? Are you worried your employer may find out?
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Not only did I have a side job, but I worked on it during downtime at my full time job. My employer knew about it and chose to turn a blind eye. Definitely an anomaly in this day and age, but greatly appreciated by me. They also won though because I would gladly do all the off hours jobs no one else wanted.
Some employers in engineering and construction companies take a dim view of work outside of work. The non-compete agreements are usually quite explicit on this.
Yes, especially in the same niche. However, a PF blog for an engineer typically wouldn’t be a big deal.
Surprisingly, I have a day job (ha!). We have a well defined set of social media rules which I follow, but I generally just avoid all of the ethical dilemmas by staying neutral & semi-anonymous while butting out of conversations where I might be biased (it happens quite a bit, heh).
That is probably a very safe call.
No one knows a thing at my job and I intend to keep it that way. Nobody’s business really but mine no matter what the clauses say.
This is an interesting subject that I haven’t given much thought of before. Personally I feel that what I do in my spare time is my own business as long as I’m not in breach of a non compete agreement. However, I usually don’t share my outside hobbies with those I work with so hopefully they won’t find my sites.
You’d be surprised. Have you checked out this article: How Much Personal Information Do You Share? It is scary how easily people can find just about anything out!
The founder and the CEO of the company I work for both blog. They are aware that I blog, but have never seen it as a problem. I don’t think they see it as competing.
That’s pretty neat! I’m glad there is no conflict!
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My employers have always been really laid back about side jobs, as long as my main job came first.
Interestingly enough, one of my employers encouraged outside work. I was a hairdresser and we were near a hospital. Sometimes friends/family of patients would come in asking if we could go to the hospital to do people in there. It wasn’t a service we provided but my employer was happy for me to have it as a side business and promote it within the salon as it reflected well on her business.
That’s a pretty interesting perspective but it makes a lot of sense.
A previous company had a globally exclusive non-compete clause. You couldn’t do ANYTHING else. Talk about lack of freedom of expression.
Doing it on the job as we speak
I will have to check out our non compete clauses. I never really even thought of that when I created my blog. Thanks for the tip!