Across the Globe the phenomenon of moonlighting is on the rise. Though an ancient practice, the emergence of the gig economy has brought moonlighting to the front burner of global development discourse. Moonlighting is known by different labels like Side Hustle, Private Practice, Side-gig, Side-hustle etc.But regardless of what name it is called it speaks to people doing more than one job for different reasons. In other words, they freelance on a secondary job, in addition to their primary job. In the US, the freelance workforce grew from 53 million in 2014 to 55 million in 2016 and represented 35% of the U.S. workforce. The freelance workforce earned an estimated $1 trillion in that year. The freelance or gig economy is a booming one across the globe though many nation states are actively not tracking data around it. There is therefore an urgent need for an understanding of the emerging moonlighting dynamics and deliberately articulated framework for dealing with moonlighting in the future of work. This piece attempts at triggering the conversation around it to guide all key stakeholders in building management proficiency in dealing with it as an inevitable feature of the Future of Work, the Workplace and the Workforce.

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Managing Employee Moonlighting in
The Future of Work and the Era of
the Gig Economy.
Dr. Olayiwola Oladapo ©November 2019

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Employee Moonlighting- Inevitable Feature of the Future of Work
Across different cultural divides, generational classifications, geographical climes and
racial diversity the phenomenon of moonlighting is a common conversation theme in
employee motivation management and labour mobility discourse.
For the benefit of people
who may not understand
what moonlighting stands
for, it carries local and
colloquial nomenclatures
across the globe. In some
professional disciplines, it
is simply known
as “Private Practice”
or “PP” or “locum” and
folks in the medical, legal
and accounting professions
may be familiar with these
particular labels. In some
other climes and generational demographics, it is known as “side gigs”, whilst in others,
it is called “side hustle”. From a financial freedom and empowerment perspective lens,
it is branded as “other streams of income activities”. And from a professional skills/job
mobility point of view, the ancient concept of moonlighting is referred to as “skill-lancing
or job-lancing”.
However, you may want to brand moonlighting, it simply means a job or jobs undertaken
in addition to the primary job. While moonlighting could be partial; meaning the employee
does it on a part-time basis, some are on a full-time basis. Whether partial or on a full-
time basis, moonlighting poses its unique challenges to overall work, workplace, and
workforce management. It not only impacts the productivity of employees, it also has a
potential impact on their motivation, retention and overall work culture dynamics.

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Without doubt, there are no disciplines, races, culture or geographical community that
has not and is not experiencing the significantly disruptive impact of an increasingly
emerging moonlighting career behavioral patterns of employees. The common
denominator driving the increasingly pervasive nature of moonlighting in the 21st-century
workforce includes and are not limited to the following primary factors:
1. The unrelenting VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) nature
of the global economy that has had unplanned deleterious effects on many
employers of labour, leading to large scale economic recession and declaration of
insolvency for many organizations. This has negatively impacted on the general
economic wellbeing of employees
across the globe as they battle with the
impact of the rising cost of living and
inflation in the face of the moratorium on
salary or reward increase.
2. The end of the age of job security and
the emergence of the concept of "Job
At The Will Of Employers "policy in
some advanced climes (where
employers of labour are not obligated to
protect the employees from job loss)
has also pushed many employees to
exploring additional job opportunities to
address their need to make the proverbial "ends meet".
3. The emergence of a paradigmatic shift towards a personal passion-driven career
has resulted in many employees taking up additional employment in areas of their
passion. This is evident in many highly trained professionals engaging in areas of
their flair and passions cutting across music, sports, arts, entertainment, fashion,
etc. For many of the younger generation at work, this third factor is predominantly
the reason they take up side gigs or skill-lance around as many of them who felt

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trapped in the society or family-imposed careers or jobs continuously seek
fulfillment in areas of life they are passionate about.
4. The growing and influential personal empowerment and motivational speaking
industry have led to a greater emphasis on personal financial freedom and
empowerment. The message focus is active encouragement of its large
followership to engage in activities that will result in extra streams of income. This
has encouraged many employees to explore additional job(s) or business
opportunities to address the burgeoning economic hardship being experienced
across the globe. Whether in passive or active forms, people in primary
employment are motivated and encouraged to exploit secondary opportunities
beyond the traditional 8/9-4/5 jobs they have. And for many of such employees,
the secondary employment
opportunities have become rewarding
if not better rewarding and fulfilling
than their primary source of
employment
5. The emergence of a trillion-dollar
sharing economy epitomized by Uber
and Airbnb amongst many others has
also lowered the entry barriers for
access to most industries and
business sectors. Besides, these
organizations playing in the sharing
economy also target people who have a primary employment or career as they
promise flexibility of work hours and additional income as part of their key value
proposition.
6. In some jurisdiction moonlighting has offered employees the chance of getting paid
for work and avoiding paying off the appropriate taxes to the tax authorities as the
unemployment and compensation derived therein are largely unreported.

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7. Finally, the impact of technological innovation, Artificial Intelligence and the
internet of things have all accentuated the ease of keeping multiple jobs for most
people across the globe without a need for physical mobility.Many can therefore
juggle the requirements of keeping multiple jobs leveraging advanced technology.
The motivational factors driving moonlighting behaviors in employees based on my
analysis of the concept can be broadly categorized
into 4 major factors;
1. Economic or Pecuniary Factor
2. Psychological Factor
3. Professional or Career Factor
4. A Combination of any of the above
Economic or Pecuniary Factor
This refers to when people moonlight or take
additional jobs to augment their primary income
from their main employment. This type of
moonlighting is common in countries where there
are low levels of income or minimum wage or where there are prevailing national
economic challenges. It is also common amongst poorly paid and highly trained
professionals.
Psychological Factor
This speaks to situations where people take up additional jobs to appease life emotional
cravings or personal psychological yearning in addressing unmet personal fulfillment
objectives. These unmet personal fulfillment objectives are typically in addition to their
physiological needs factors on the Maslow hierarchy of needs that their primary jobs may
address. This type of moonlighting is common with people who feel trapped in following
career paths or jobs chosen or forced on them by their guardians/parents/society as
compared to doing what they have a flair, natural talents, and passion for.

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Professional or Career Factor
This type of moonlighting refers to
when people look for side-gigs, hustle
or job-lance to gain competence and
experience that they can leverage in
growing their career. Most of the time,
such opportunities are not readily
available to them in their current jobs
or their employers are not disposed to
allowing them gain such experiences.
In other instances, they may want their
career development interests kept
discreet from their current employer or
supervisor.
A combination of any and all of
these
It is also possible that people
moonlight because of the combination
of any and all of the highlighted
factors. It is not uncommon to see
people take up additional jobs simply
because they need to augment their
income whilst also exploring their
areas of flair, talents, and passion.
The Global Geographic, Demographic & Economic Impact
There are empirical shreds of evidence across the globe that suggest that moonlighting
as it relates to the emergence of the gig economy is on the increase. The gig economy
refers to the free market principle of engaging Human Resource as a contingent
workforce on need to have, fixed-term basis and on flexible contractual conditions. The

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use of the word as slang was originally associated with musicians but its application has
been extended to describing the evolving and growing global economy that thrives and
relies on a contingent workforce type rather than the traditional employees.
An analysis of five sectors of the gig economy (comprising crowdfunding, asset sharing,
transport, on-demand household services, and on-demand professional services) by
PWC in the European Union generated the following high revenues and strong growth
prospects forecasts for the gig economy:
• Revenues of €3.6 billion in 2015
• Revenue expansion of roughly 35% yearly between 2015 and 2025, around 10
times faster than the broader economy
• Revenues over €80 billion by 2025, with many areas rivaling the size of traditional
counterparts 1.
Another study commissioned by Adobe in 2016 found out that a full third of U.S. office
workers are moonlighting. Whilst 69 percent say they moonlight to earn extra money, 27
percent do it to pursue a passion not related to their job, and 25 and 22 percent do it to
increase their skills for a career switch and to get experience to help them move ahead
with their current careers 2.
According to T. Rowe Price in its released survey report titled "2018 Financial Attitudes &
Behaviors Toward the Gig Economy, "There is a 12 percentage point gap
between men and women in traditional
full-time jobs but a five-point difference
between men and women working in the
gig economy. The report also revealed
that 78 percent of gig workers consider
themselves more involved in their
finances as a result of participating in the
gig economy. Thirty-nine percent of gig
workers report checking their accounts
more regularly, 32 percent are more on

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top of their bills, and 23 percent are more "hands-on" with their investment accounts,
since joining the gig economy.
Gig economy employment in the report is defined as independent full- or part-time work,
including temporary, freelance, and contract employment, or business ownership" 3
The majority of the gig economy and freelance job growth is driven by 18-34-year olds.
47% of Millennials freelance, more
than any other generation.4
Another research conducted by
Upwork and the Freelancers Union in
2016 titled found out amongst other
things the following:5
• Freelancing is growing -- The
freelance workforce grew from 53
million in 2014 to 55 million in 2016
and represented 35% of the U.S.
workforce. The freelance workforce
earned an estimated $1 trillion in that
year, representing a significant share
of the U.S. economy. The U.S.
freelance workforce is growing faster
than the overall U.S. workforce,
outpacing overall U.S. workforce
growth at a rate 3x faster since 2014
• People are increasingly
freelancing by choice as the job market changes -- Asked whether they started
freelancing more by choice or necessity, 63% of freelancers said by choice -- up
10 points (from 53%) since 2014. The majority of freelancers said that today,
having a diversified portfolio of clients is more secure than having one employer.

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• Technology is enabling freelancing -- 73% of freelancers said that technology
has made it easier to find freelance work -- up 4 points (from 69%) since 2014.
Additionally, 66% of freelancers said the amount of work they have obtained online
has increased.

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Classifying Moonlighting Based on Job Types
The types of jobs people take when they moonlight can be generally classified into the
following two broad categories:
1. The Inbred Moonlighting Jobs
2. Outbreed Moonlighting Jobs
The Inbred Moonlighting Jobs
People inbreed when they take on additional jobs similar to their current areas of
employment. So, it's same of the same as they stay within their current area of expertise
or comfort zone. For example, doctors who do locum
practice take up additional jobs outside their primary
employment in other hospitals as doctors. Teachers
also take up additional teaching opportunities
elsewhere.
The Outbreed Moonlighting Jobs
These are jobs that people do well outside their
current areas of job expertise or in areas not related
to their current and primary jobs or career. In some
cases, it may relate to areas of their passion,
interest, flair or undisclosed competences. For
example, a doctor during his or her spare time could be a bass guitar player for a popular
night band or stand up comedian or compere for social events. Some professionals do
work as sports analysts during their recess window. It is also not uncommon for public
servants in many climes including Africa to have moonlighting jobs/interests as farmers,
traders, and merchandisers.
Moonlighting and the Future of Work
Moonlighting is an inevitable feature of the current and future of work that presents some
interesting challenges to employers of labour, managers, HR professionals, public

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policymakers, labour organizations, and even employees alike. A few of these challenges
include the following:
1. Impact on Organizational and Employee Engagement
2. Impact on National and organizational Policy Direction
3. Impact on Entrepreneurial Growth, Labour Mobility, and Skills Diversification
4. Implications of Unreported Work Compensation on Tax Compliance
Impact on Organizational and Employee Engagement
Employers of labour, managers,
supervisors and even HR
professionals are going to have to
deal with the increasing number of
employees who are moonlighting.
This will present associated
challenges to employee engagement,
employee loyalty, focus, conflict of
interest, "presenteeism" (as employees present physically at work but their soul and
faculties are somewhere else where their passions are) and overall employee
productivity.
Also, issues with conflict of interest may escalate to such an extent that it impacts
negatively on the organization in other areas where the moonlighting job of the employees
are in high conflict with those of the employer. The moonlighting job may also physically
take its toll on the employees affecting their ability to perform on their main jobs.
Recently a driver in an organization who moonlights driving a cab after office hours, had
an accident while on his moonlighting job. He had to be admitted to the hospital and was
unavailable to carry out his duty in his primary job. This is absenteeism directly related to
his moonlighting in another job with a significant impact on his current employer.
On the other side of the coin, it is interesting to note that organizations that officially made
provisions for their employees to moonlight have leveraged the policy to deal with

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employee attrition when they are not the most competitively rewarding employer in their
markets. Employees who work for such organizations derived fulfillment and satisfaction
working for their employer and accordingly attributed their fulfillment and satisfaction to
the opportunity they had to moonlight.
What is clear is that organizational leaders, managers, and HR professionals will have to
deal with a larger population of the workforce who are moonlighting in addition to a rising
population of contingent workforce who will dominate the talent market in the future..
There is, therefore, imperative for organizations to start exploring mechanisms to manage
the dynamic challenges that moonlighting brings to the future of work. The ability to do
this well may become the employee value proposition to leverage to become an employer
of choice in the markets for top talents in the future of work.
Impact on National Legislation and Organizational Policy Direction
In certain jurisdictions, the law
protects employees that
moonlight. In the United States,
the state of California has laws
prohibiting employers from taking
any job-related action based on a
worker's lawful conduct off the job.
The laws of California frowns at
limitations placed on employees
on what they do in their off-time and relax their access to moonlighting opportunities. But
the state of California has recently passed a law that is meant to make employers treat
contingent or gig workforce as employees entitled to get holiday and sick pay. Known as
Assembly Bill 5, it will affect a lot of the firms working out of California who are heavily
reliant on gig workers and it's been projected that this new law may lead to about 30%
increase in the cost of operations of the firms who are big players in the gig economy.
The emergence of moonlighting has understandably heightened discussions around what
legally constitutes "a conflict of interest" for organizations. In the most severe and

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unsolved cases, the help of the courts were sought to address what and what does not
constitute ‘conflict of interest" for a moonlighting employee.
All of these are prognosis for very delicate times that lie ahead for labour law legislation
and HR policy-making. What is not in doubt is that all key stakeholders including
Business, Legal, Labour Organizations and HR Leaders will need to revisit and review
Labour laws, Organizational and HR policies to address the emerging issues around
moonlighting as traditional laws and policy provisions may not adequately cater for
addressing and managing the evolving dynamics in employee classification, conflicts of
interest and employee conditions of employment to avoid potential legal and industrial
labour landmines that moonlighting may portend to the future of work, the workplace and
the workforce.
Impact on Entrepreneurial Growth, Labour Mobility, and Skills Diversification
Without any doubt moonlighting is
an integral factor of development
driving national entrepreneurial
growth, labour mobility,
diversification of individual and
national skill base. For most people
who are interested in
entrepreneurial pursuits,
moonlighting offers the safety net
for them to also exercise their
entrepreneurial franchise whilst
still retaining the safe comfort of
their current jobs. In terms of labour mobility, it also affords them the opportunity of
retaining their employment status in the event of job redundancy. And for moonlighters
focused on outbreed jobs, there is also the opportunity to acquire and hone new skills to
further increase their ability to retain gainful employment if their primary job security is
threatened or jeopardized. Interestingly many organizations rely on and leverage the

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additional skills and experiences of such employees who moonlight in enriching their
productivity and outcomes in their primary job assignments.
The overall impact is positive for national economic development as the side gig economy
global growth curve is on a steep rise. According to Mastercard, and Kaiser the size of
the Gig Economy is estimated to be" USD 204 billion in annual Gross Volume (GV) in
2018, a figure that summarizes the total value of transactions by customers for Gig
services.
Of this $204B, about two-thirds are disbursed to the millions of freelancers involved in the
Gig Economy; the other portion of which is either collected as a commission by the digital
platform or distributed to third parties in the Gig ecosystem (e.g., restaurant partners in
food delivery services". And in terms of projections for the future, they estimated that the
Gig Economy will grow to a whopping $455B by YE2023.7
The clear message is that moonlighting is an invetiable and significant feature of the future
of work, the workplace and the workforce and all stakeholders must become more
proficient in managing the opportunities and challenges associated with it.
Implications of Unreported Side Gig Compensation on Tax Compliance
Due to the fact that most organizations
do have policies that do not
encourage and engender
moonlighting and also because many
people who engage in side hustles are
also keen on avoiding paying the
necessary taxes, most side hustle
activities are not formally reported and
are largely opaque economic activities
to the tax regulatory authorities.
In the US, a 2005 University of California, Los Angeles, study showed that the California
economy may have been weakened by payment made to more than two million workers
who ended not paying taxes. Indeed. An estimate on the finder.com suggests that over

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US $214.6 billion went unreported to the United States IRS in 2016 from unreported and
undocumented economic value generated from side hustles. The same article also
identified that a demographic pattern existed around the evasion of tax by gig workforce
in the US. According to the article "Millennials are the worst when it comes to not declaring
the money made on the side — 33.3% of all side-hustling millennials. Generation X
follows behind millennials at 26%. But even baby boomers aren't missing out, with 16.6%
dipping their toes into the illegal side of the gig economy".8
Matters Arising
The critical question is whether the workplace, work managers and organizational leaders
are ready for the coming blitzkrieg of the contingent/freelancing/skill-lancing/job-lancing
moonlighting/side-hustling/side-gigging workforce of the future.
Are our national, internal
organizational and HR policies
ready and anticipating
managing and dealing with the
workforce of the future that will
be predominantly populated by
a contingent workforce?
Do we have adequate processes and systems to manage employees who moonlight as
an inevitable constituent of our workforce population?
Do we know how many of our employees are currently moonlighting and do we have
established processes to manage conflicts of interests?
On a Final Note
"You have to structure your workforce and your company in a way that allows you to
attract and retain the talent you need to be successful, and increasingly that looks more
like independent work than it does traditional full-time employment" —Diane Mulcahy,
author, The Gig Economy

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The objective of this piece in the Future of Work Series is to by all means call the attention
of all critical stakeholders to the imperatives of preparing for the inevitability of
moonlighting as the new normal in the Future of Work, the workplace and the Workforce.
There is a need for multi-stakeholder conversation, contemplation and consultation on
how to prepare for managing employee moonlighting as an invetiable but critical feature
of the gig economy and future of work.
References
1. Abigail Hunt and Emma Samman: Gender and the gig economy Critical steps for
evidence-based policy, January 2019 https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-
documents/12586.pdf
2. Adobe Work in Progress, 2016 : https://adobe.ly/2AT08aU .
3. T. Rowe Price: Gig Economy Workers Pay More Attention to Their Money, April 2018
ttps://www.troweprice.com/corporate/en/press/t--rowe-price--gig-economy-workers-pay-
more-attention-to-their-m.html
4. A.J Brustein, Data on the Gig Economy and How it is Transforming the Workforce, July
2019. https://www.wonolo.com/blog/data-gig-economy-transforming-workforce/
5. Upwork and the Freelancers Union- 2016 Freelancing in America study,
https://bit.ly/2ni9fkx .
6. California passes landmark gig economy rights bill, BBC, September 11, 2019
https://bbc.in/34o1XMg
7. Mastercard Gig Economy Industry Outlook and Needs Assessment by Mastercard and
Kaiser Associates May 2019: The Global Gig Economy: Capitalizing on a ~$500B
Opportunity https://mstr.cd/2m64lGC
8. McDermott, Jennifer (3 September 2017). "Side hustles and tax evasion: The telling
statistics". finder.com.
Dr. Olayiwola Oladapo is an International and Organizational Development Professional and thought leader.

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Let the Conversations Continue!!!