On a lighter note, moonlighting simply showcases the access capacity of a knowledge worker.
I just googled “Moonlighting” and I got the following:
Moonlighter is “one who takes a second job after hours” (1954), from the notion of working by the light of the moon.
Moonlighting in which case is more of a side gig done to make the ends meet.
Just imagine a factory worker in the 1860s attempting to moonlight what he/she did after the 12-hour grueling workday was no one’s business. But how would you even moonlight without the tools and assets? Machinery was centralized, thanks to steam engines operating near big rivers. Steam power couldn’t be distributed efficiently.
Electrical power overcame that barrier in the early 20th century.
About a decade back when I was working as a maintenance engineer, I remember that a few of the lathe operators worked on their side gigs after their 8-hour shifts. Sridhar had his own lathe machine installed at his home. He had the skills and access capacity as an individual. He simply used them to make more money.
In the 90s, the internet started gaining traction. Knowledge work started concentrating on office spaces. Companies could afford computers and the internet. Individuals could not.
In the 2010s internet reached the masses. It could be distributed worldwide thanks to undersea cables and the mobile data revolution.
You see, the distribution of utilities (Electricity, Internet, etc) has always empowered the workforce. Some humans love to maximize their potential and utilize their capacity, it is their nature or compulsion to make the ends meet.
It will be interesting to see how the organizations and legal framework put a tap on this.
In the meanwhile, TCS (a Large IT company) has taken a different stance. Here is what they say:
“Moonlighting we believe is an ethical issue and it’s against our TCS core values and culture in general. I’m not talking about the IT industry as a whole, I’m talking about the TCS perspective. We have been communicating this to employees,”
What couldn’t be controlled by legal means, could be always managed with ethics and values. This is an old trick but works wonders.
How? just have a look at how religions work.
What do you think?
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