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I do think that companies have an interest in knowing if you have a side hustle, in order to make sure there is no conflict of interest. And failure to disclose

I do think that companies have an interest in knowing if you have a side hustle, in order to make sure there is no conflict of interest. And failure to disclose is a big deal. Barring that, I don't like "full time and attention" clauses. As long as you provide the services to your employer that you agreed to apply in exchange for your salary, there shouldn't be an issue. I owned a business that was my primary source of income for 15 years and continued to operate for 4 years after reentering the work force. I disclosed it to each every employer and had no issues at all. The only questions are typically "what does it do? (i.e: does it compete with us?)" and one employer asked "how much time does it require of you?" It might vary among industries, but in the tech industry it is pretty common for people to have side projects - including income generating ones. As long as you disclose what you're doing and there is no conflict of interest then, in my experience, employers are pretty lax. And since we're talking about full time jobs, and not owning businesses, there is also the option of going independent as a contractor. Some companies might still try to get you into an exclusive contract, but it's standard to contract to an hourly arrangement and then you can pick up as many contracts as you're comfortable juggling and work the exact amount of hours you want to. I would still disclose and turn down contracts if there were a conflict of interest, for ethical reasons, but from a logistical point of view more people should consider that if they want to work more hours and have that type of flexibility.

ido 4y ago
I think the issue is that there's a pretty broad spectrum between "do just enough work to not get fired" and "do the best job you reasonably can". Employers (in tech at least) expect the latter. I wouldn't like working with someone who's on the former end of the spectrum, regardless of the reason.
- gspencley 4y ago
  Oh agreed. I just think that there are some pretty big assumptions being made about what an individual with a side hustle is capable of achieving. Speaking from personal experience, my promise to my employers was that they were my priority and that I would not allow my side hustle to affect my job performance. It never did. There is also a lot of room for subjective opinions about what it means to "do the best job you reasonably can." Does that mean showing up on time, supporting your team, being available during work hours and producing high-quality work or does it mean giving up on work life balance, being on call and working overtime routinely? It might be my age, but I wouldn't accept a position that expected the latter. But, again speaking from experience, when I continued to operate my business while working full time it came from a place of ambition and wanting to do the best for myself and my family that I could. I worked hard, kicked ass at work and made a lot of money that put my family in a really good position. Obviously there are lazy leeches and employers need to be on the lookout. That's why I prefer that job performance be the metric. Not whether or not someone has other sources of income. In fact, to put on my dark cynical hat for a moment, I think that one reason employers might not like employees with other sources of income is that it means the employee isn't as dependent on the employer and so they don't have the same power dynamic. There are a lot of nasty implications there. I prefer leading through inspiring and having a work environment that is pleasant and fun.

ido 4y ago

I think the issue is that there's a pretty broad spectrum between "do just enough work to not get fired" and "do the best job you reasonably can". Employers (in tech at least) expect the latter. I wouldn't like working with someone who's on the former end of the spectrum, regardless of the reason.

gspencley 4y ago
Oh agreed. I just think that there are some pretty big assumptions being made about what an individual with a side hustle is capable of achieving. Speaking from personal experience, my promise to my employers was that they were my priority and that I would not allow my side hustle to affect my job performance. It never did. There is also a lot of room for subjective opinions about what it means to "do the best job you reasonably can." Does that mean showing up on time, supporting your team, being available during work hours and producing high-quality work or does it mean giving up on work life balance, being on call and working overtime routinely? It might be my age, but I wouldn't accept a position that expected the latter. But, again speaking from experience, when I continued to operate my business while working full time it came from a place of ambition and wanting to do the best for myself and my family that I could. I worked hard, kicked ass at work and made a lot of money that put my family in a really good position. Obviously there are lazy leeches and employers need to be on the lookout. That's why I prefer that job performance be the metric. Not whether or not someone has other sources of income. In fact, to put on my dark cynical hat for a moment, I think that one reason employers might not like employees with other sources of income is that it means the employee isn't as dependent on the employer and so they don't have the same power dynamic. There are a lot of nasty implications there. I prefer leading through inspiring and having a work environment that is pleasant and fun.