HR Bulletin Volume 122

HR BULLETIN

Aflood of moonlight

Those operating close to subsistence levels have often had to stretch themselves over multiple jobs Why is the trend accelerating among knowledge workers and what should we do about it?

Recent TV debates on Moonlighting have fully lived up to the potential of the medium. Participants have talked past their opponents and sometimes even past those purportedly on the same side!

Proponents of Moonlighting almost break into one ofAndy Williams’signature lyrics (with minimal augmentation):

Moonlighting river, wider than a mile

I'm crossing you in style someday

You dream maker, you heartbreaker

Wherever you're going, I'm going your way

The other side fields supreme court advocates threatening death, doom or (failing those) dismissal. Nothing less will assuage the righteous anger of the affronted CEO. White hot moral indignation about employees wanting to earn more must take special chutz (grand)pah from promoters who out wage the moonlighters by a thousand times or more.

Neither side chooses even to define terms, much less investigate causes. Such confusion is not recent. As far back as 1963, Harold Wilensky wrote that "the range of fact and opinion about moonlighting discourages understanding and prediction "1

This column seeks to describe how mid level Moonlighting is only the culminating act in a long sequence of neglect coupled with several enabling technologies It goes on to analyze varieties of Moonlighting as well as the special circumstances when Moonlighting can be a boon But we can do none of that till we get some definitions and terminology in hand.

I find the definition provided for Multiple Job Holding (MJH) by Emily Campion (et al) useful: "The act of working more than one job simultaneously, including working for employers and self employment, wherein all tasks, or sets of tasks, are performed in exchange for, or expectation of, compensation…. MJH is distinct from but can overlap with, the concept of 'gig economy work'… MJH is a broader concept that captures working and managing multiple jobs simultaneously, which may or may not be short term or project based."2 Their justification for preferring MJH over Moonlighting is also convincing. Moonlighting is pejorative and implies a clandestine activity which need not be true of all MJH In the interest of greater familiarity, however, I shall continue with the less happy usage for most of this column

Psychological contract pyramid

When an issue is fraught with confusion and emotion, I find it useful to start from the basics "The psychological contract concept is used to explain behaviour by considering the extent to which the employee believes that the employer has kept the promises the employee perceives were made to them. As in any relationship, if promises are kept, then satisfaction and a desire to stay in the relationship are likely consequences. If, on the other hand, promises are broken, negative emotions and the urge to withdraw may follow."3 In this case, I shall pick five fundamental building blocks of the psychological contract that exists between people and the organisations that employ them. My choice is also dictated by the help they provide in classifying Moonlighting and the triggers for it. The following table provides a summary: The Employee Brings The Organisation Provides

Neither these terms nor the reciprocity between the columns needs an explanation for an HR reader What could do with some elaboration are the consequences when one or other side fails to live up to its side of the unwritten psychological contract Moonlighting is a particular type of employee withdrawal behaviour, usually in response to some breach in what the organisation is expected to provide It involves diverting at least 'Time' and 'Energy' from the primary job (or from the time intended for rest and recuperation) and sometimes the other 'Employee Brings’as

Why celebrating employee success, workplace feedback is important for your business

New workforce experience research shows that discrepancies between employers’ and employees’ workplace experience ratings are closing, but employers need to turn awareness into action.

Company leaders are beginning to recognise that celebrating employees’ accomplishments and valuing their feedback are essential in managing and supporting engaged and productive staff, maintaining morale and motivation, and reducing the risk of burnout. However, there remains a significant percentage of employees who still feel undervalued and unheard in their workplace. The study indicates organisations are more aware of their employees’ needs, but still lag in taking action to address them. Employee experience starts and ends with company leaders and it’s essential for employees to be given the proper tools to be successful. To create moments that matter at work every day, company leaders must remember to:

• Enable better work/life balance with flexible schedules and rosters, streamlined time off request and approval processes, and make sure employees’ voices are heard

• Set employees up for success with streamlined communication, knowledge sharing, and clear expectations before they arrive for work each day

• Create consistently meaningful moments at work by getting employee feedback, ensuring they have all the tools they need to do their jobs, and recognising when they are at risk of burnout and need a break

Given that stress can lead to depression and anxiety, it’s clear that action is needed at the workplace to protect the staff, otherwise, the malaise will only spiral, and employees will either leave, need time off, or burn out, thus affecting work

Work related stress is everywhere, with Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace study showing 44% of participants revealed they suffered from workplace stress daily Though some people treat workplace stress as a ‘norm’, or even a ‘motivator’, too much of it can seriously impact more than just your work your mood, your body and your relationships can all decline

In 2020/21 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that stress, depression, or anxiety, accounted for 50% of all work related ill health Given that stress can lead to depression and anxiety, it’s clear that action is needed at workplaces to protect their staff.

Management expert and management enablement platform Piper's CEO, Sathya Smith says while stress in the workplace is unavoidable at times, it is important that it is managed correctly and the signs of employees struggling with stress are spotted early before it escalates.

"Managers need to identify and understand the sources of employees’ stress and advise on how they can provide support in response to their teams’ concerns.” Here are some ways to achieve this…

Can Musk fix Twitter? Here’s what an expert says

There is hardly any doubt about Musk’s credentials as an ingenious innovator, but he is not the right fit for a business in crisis, feels an industry leader, who says Twitter requires a person who can troubleshoot and quickly fix.

Twitter seems to be in a mess with its mercurial but maverick owner Elon Musk’s flip flops in helming the micro blogging site Musk, an ingenious innovator never ceases to surprise you with his moves, which may not appear right all the time.

SpaceX has seen a meteoric rise under charismatic Musk, but he may not be ‘infallible. ' Musk’s detractors say his Tesla type innovation is coming a cropper at Twitter.

Twitter requires a ‘fixer’, someone who can identify the most pressing issues such as cash burn and the declining morale and provide quick solutions. The trademark of a fixer is also their ability to listen.

Robert Jordan, co founder, and CEO of US based InterimExecs, an interim executive search firm that helps companies accomplish more with interim management, says Musk broke the four cardinal rules of the fixer leader.

•He didn’t listen: You have to be incredibly tone deaf to tweet “the bird is freed” and not understand the concerns of governments, Twits, and advertisers who would then respond with alarm that the controls instituted painstakingly over the years by Twitter’s board and management, vital guardrails, could be thrown out overnight Liz Truss forgot she doesn’t control the world’s reserve currency Musk has so far forgotten that this is not an engineering problem, like Tesla, SpaceX, or the Boring Company It’s a messy, complicated forum at the heart of a very human exercise

Why mentoring newly-hired employees is important

Mentors play a key role in helping new joiners drop their inhibitions and get answers to all their questions, which helps organisations have engaged employees and, in turn, curbs infant attrition, says Koo's Bhupendra Joshi

A structured mentorship programme is crucial for any company, as it enables it to have happy and productive employees from the day one of their joining In the initial period of their career, mentors play a key role in helping new joiners/employees drop their guard/inhibitions/hesitations, and get answers to all their questions This also helps in having engaged employees and in turn curb infant attrition.

“New employees get comfortable as their mentors support them to find their feet in the organisation. Mentors spend time with their mentees to make them aware of the system, organisation structure, processes, company policies etc. and help new employees make quality contributions. An engaged new joinee adds value and is less likely to leave the company in the first few months,” says Bhupendra Joshi, head of people function, organisation development and talent management, of Koo the Indian multilingual, micro blogging platform. Koo regularly organises informal and formal boot camps for interns where they work on internal live projects for 3 6 months and are mentored rigorously on a weekly basis

“In addition to this, we have co sponsoring technical certification projects for our employees to help them we have co sponsoring technical certification projects for our employees to help them advance their skills