How Should Zagante Systems Deal With Moonlighting?
The way that Zagante Systems should deal with Jeremy’s “moonlighting” situation is simple; they should tell Jeremy that he cannot use company resources anymore for his side projects, but other than that, they cannot stop him from making extra money on the side by moonlighting for another company.
First, the company Jeremy moonlights for is not a direct competitor of Zagante Systems. Along with this, his side projects have no negative impact on the company's success. Despite an increased workload, he has consistently completed his primary responsibilities and performed so well that he was next in line for a significant promotion. Jeremy has clearly maintained this balance for some time without any decline in work quality. Since his side work occurs after hours and Zagante has faced no effects of his actions, he should be allowed to continue. His continued focus and attentiveness during business hours further justify this stance.
Another consideration is that Jeremy will learn new techniques, softwares, and come up with new ideas that he can bring to Zagante Systems. Having exposure to different projects will allow Jeremy to expand his skillset beyond what he may learn at his current role. Dave, the Architect for Melanie said that in his business, moonlighting is very common and it almost always proves beneficial to the company. In the end, employees return to their primary job with improved technical abilities, a fresh perspective, and a better understanding of industry trends. This can all lead to better overall performance within the company.
While Melanie’s concern may not be with the current quality of his work, she has warrant to be concerned with Jermey’s potential at the company not being achieved. Despite his current production being satisfactory, it’s very easy to imagine how much more he can do without moonlighting. Working at another company takes away mental and time resources from the employee that may limit the potential efficiency of the employee, in this case, Jeremy. Seemingly counterintuitive, a solution to this is to promote Jeremy and give him more stake and motivation in the company. This would incentivize him to prioritize his work Zagante and align his and the company’s goals without compromising their established relationship.
Ultimately, Jeremy should not be using company resources to do his side work. Using company computers instead of his own is costing Zagante money (power/electric bill), so he should be told to work on his own machines. However, anything an employee does after work-hours for some extra money has nothing to do with their employer (as long as they are not working for a competitor), so Zagante should not do anything about Jeremy’s moonlighting.