I'll assume the question regards employees working on side projects outside of the hours that they are doing paid work for their employer. I think it is reason

I'll assume the question regards employees working on side projects outside of the hours that they are doing paid work for their employer. I think it is reasonable for employers to require: - the employer owns any intellectual property generated by the employee during the course of the employee's duties (i.e. paid employment) - that employees disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest with their employer's business - (possibly, subject to negotiation) that the employee may be placed under non-compete restrictions during the time they work for and after they leave the company, provided the employee is appropriately compensated for the opportunity cost (e.g. a paid period of "gardening leave" if they are prevented from working in the industry for 12 months) I don't think it is reasonable for an employer to own intellectual property generated by the employee outside the course of their duties, or have any say in what other business activities an employee may have, or whatever else an employee does in the rest of their life outside the $dayjob. Personally, as I've gained experience working as a permanent employee and working as a contractor, I simply won't sign any employment agreement that constrains what I can do in my time outside of work. Sometimes prospective employers opportunistically sneak such clauses into employment contracts, but are then happy to strike out such clauses, if they are not, there's plenty of opportunities for well-paying contract work without such restrictions, so I'll look for something else. That said, part of this is simply about relative power of the employer and employees. If employees don't have a range of alternative options for work, or are not unionised, and don't live in a polity where these aspects of employment contracts are regulated, then it is possible than employers may offer relatively unfair employment contracts, which some potential employees will still sign if they don't feel they have an alternative. Thucydides -- "the strong do what they will, the weak suffer what they must."