Corporate giants and their debate on moonlighting

The year 2022 has been a year where many corporate workers chose to freelance just to gain more stability and flexibility in their work life.

Freelancers can take on multiple clients and projects at once, providing a level of financial stability and security and also having the freedom to choose the projects they want to work on and the hours they want to work, allowing a great deal of flexibility in terms of scheduling and lifestyle. However, freelancing also comes with its own set of challenges, such as the need to constantly find new clients and the lack of certain benefits that come with traditional employment. The solution to the problem of constantly having to find new clients to keep the income following was solved by different freelance platforms like Upwork, freelancer.com, GigVistas, and many more that provide opportunities that are relevant to their skillsets, also give freelancers an opportunity to work with international clients on contract basis. For many corporate workers, moonlighting has been another career option, where employees take up gigs apart from their permanent jobs just to bring in extra income. 

On the other hand, many IT companies like Wipro and Infosys had different opinions on moonlighting. 

According to an article by the Economic Times, ‘Moonlighting has sparked a heated debate in India Inc, with top honchos coming out on different sides. Days after Wipro fired 300 workers for moonlighting, IT firms are now reaching out to legal experts to help to re-evaluate and redraft existing employment contracts. A consultant told us that the potential challenges around moonlighting will require companies to ensure contracts are more watertight and clear boundaries laid down.’

Moonlighting being a beneficial activity, also has its drawbacks, some companies do encourage their employees to take up gigs apart from their regular job whereas some companies don’t. A corporate employee needs to check his existing job’s contract if it permits him to take up gigs. 

According to an article by Business Standard, ‘Infosys allows employees to take up gig work with managers' prior consent. Infosys has allowed employees to take up 'gig' jobs on the side with the prior consent of managers provided such an engagement does not compete with the company, or its clients or pose a conflict of interest.

Many analysts say that this move may help the company address some attrition challenges since it allows its employees to take up additional work as a source of earnings, and chase their passion while being with firm riders.

Companies may lay off employees for a variety of reasons, including financial difficulties, changes in market conditions or company direction, or a shift in business strategy. In some cases, layoffs may be necessary for a company to remain financially stable or to adapt to changes in the industry. Layoffs can also occur as a result of automation and technology replacing jobs that were once done by humans.

Many MNCs like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, HP, Twitter, etc have laid off hundreds of employees in the last few months. 

According to India Today, Thousands of IT employees are becoming jobless and struggling to land a new job. But even the ones who are fortunate to get hired are on the verge of losing their job again, just like a techie who got laid off 3 times in the last 4 months from companies like Snap, Amazon and now Google. 

Recently Google fired 12,000 employees across the globe, Amazon and Microsoft also laid off around 10,000 employees. 90 other tech companies have currently stopped hiring and are employing people for critical roles only. 

What led to all these layoffs?

These are the two important factors that lead to employee layoffs,…

1. Financial difficulties: If a company is struggling financially, it may need to reduce its workforce in order to cut costs and stay afloat. Amid widespread caution regarding the global economic slowdown, IT firms are reaccessing their spending and bracing for a potential recession. Economic recessions can lead to a decrease in consumer spending and business activity, which can result in companies laying off employees.
2. Changes in market conditions: A decline in demand for a company's products or services, increased competition, or shifts in the consumer behavior can all lead to layoffs. The world has been facing major challenges since the beginning of 2022 like inflation and weak demand. After the geopolitical crisis, consumer price inflation has increased in countries such as Europe, the USA, India, and other countries. 

Companies are now refocusing and restructuring their company strategies and also making advances to their technology that can lead to the automation of certain jobs, which can result in layoffs for employees who were previously performing the same tasks. 

Overall, layoffs are often a result of a combination of these factors and are a difficult but sometimes necessary decision for companies to make.

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