|
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) - Americans looking to make ends meet, accumulate a down-payment for a home or fund exotic travel by working multiple jobs often face both a cash and a time crunch. Generating two or more paychecks may sound like a good way to pay the bills, but workers who might take on a second job need to be realistic about whether they can spare the extra time required, career experts said. At best, second jobs give pocketbooks a lift and raise workers' marketability. But moonlighting also can undermine performance at their primary jobs, said Arthur Silbergeld, a partner at Proskauer Rose, a Los Angeles law firm that represents employers. "Employers don't want to see employees... coming in bleary-eyed
because they've been up for 22 hours working and commuting because
they've taken a second job," Silbergeld said. Of course, many people don't have the luxury of choosing, said Smooch Reynolds, author of "Be Hunted: Twelve Secrets to Getting on the Headhunters' Radar Screen." "In this economy, if you've got an unemployed spouse and a family to support, it may very well be that you're forced to take a second job," she said. Still, statistics show fewer employees are working more than one job despite the economic gloom. See Moonlighting Losing its Luster. Those who are working multiple jobs are most likely to be firefighters, physicians' assistants or teachers. See Ten Most Moonlight-Friendly, Full-Time Jobs. To tell the boss or not? Before committing to additional employment, workers should engage in a cost-benefit analysis to gauge how and whether to approach their bosses about taking a second job, Reynolds said. Deciding whether to inform a supervisor depends on the nature of the moonlighting and office politics, she said. "One angle is it's really none of their business as long as it doesn't interfere with your current job," she said, though noting a potential conflict of interest with a competitor makes disclosure obligatory. "If there's a conflict, you need to divulge it to your boss." But employers may jump to conclusions if workers don't tell, and may view an employee as withholding information that violates trade secrets, Silbergeld said. "Employees are making a bad mistake if they don't let the employer know that they're moonlighting because if the employer finds out, the failure to make some level of disclosure is going to be highly suspect." Those who work overtime at their primary jobs are especially responsible for giving managers notice because moonlighting may affect their availability, he said. Many employers have a simple clause in their company handbooks saying that workers aren't barred from taking other jobs after hours, but an employee who also works elsewhere is expected to inform his or her supervisor, Silbergeld said. Some white-collar managers who take second jobs may need to get written approval, he said. Still, companies generally want to work out a suitable arrangement to keep employees happy. "Most employers don't want to prohibit their employees from working somewhere else if they need to," Silbergeld said. "They simply want to make sure if they are going to moonlight, they know about it and it's not going to affect employees' ability to do the job they were hired for." Other considerations Legalities aside, workers also are wise to weigh the toll of multiple jobs on their personal lives, Reynolds said. Scrambling from job to job may leave little time to nurture relationships with family and friends. Overall, if employees decide the benefits of moonlighting exceed the drawbacks, or they find they simply must work a second or "throwaway" job, the experience often pays off, Reynolds said. "These freelance or moonlight jobs that people do simply to pay the rent may be a springboard to something else they can't even dream of right now," she said. "If you just focus on doing A+ work no matter how much you hate that job, somewhere down the road it's going to surface as a huge plus for you." Kristen Gerencher is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San
Francisco. |
