Employees Should Beware of Employers Making Their Jobs Precarious Using the Allure of "Second Jobs"

There is probably no worse time for people looking for a career change. As COVID-19 continues to rage around the world and output data show double-digit declines across major economies and rising unemployment, employees are lucky that they still have a job. In a world in which employers are concerned whether they will have enough business to cover them for the months to come, none are particularly keen on expanding the number of employees at this very moment. For those who are currently stuck in jobs that are less than interested in and looking for a way out, it seems they are unlikely to be successful at it until COVID goes away.

But it would also be naive to assume that, should COVID goes away tomorrow, the process of finding and doing work will miraculously go back to the old order before COVID came along. Plenty of articles already talk about how the changing workplace, with more employees working from home and remote meetings becoming a norm, will stick around even without a pandemic. With the workplace looking different, employee contracts, benefits, and hours may also change accordingly. For those seeking new careers from now on, it may be important to keep such future changes in mind.

On the changes that are bound to happen is the emergence of "employee sharing." Just like consumers would share cars, batteries, umbrellas, and other durable goods that they only need for the moment to save costs, companies are realizing that they can cut costs by only having people show up for work when there is sufficient work to do. As workloads and business relationships become more precarious for many more firms because of the epidemic-related economic decline, the ability to cut down on excess labor costs and improve efficiency by reducing work hours may find many takers in the corporate world.

The result may be greater adoption of second jobs by many firms and employees in a way not seen before. Up until now, many firms are resistant to the idea of having employees work a second job somewhere else, with good reason. Employees, when they have second jobs, are likely to do something similar to their first jobs, gravely increasing the possibility of leaking confidential information to competitors. And firms would justifiably fret that employees who work two jobs would be less than 100% concentrated in either of the two jobs, leading to lower productivity for the company.

The calculation has changed as the epidemic disrupts global supply chains. With a reduced amount of work, it no longer makes sense to keep employees around 100% of the time, even if it means less productivity on a per hour basis. For countries like Japan, where firing full-time employees is difficult without a valid reason is nearly impossible, getting employees to voluntarily become part-time (and thus part-pay) by encouraging them to take a second job elsewhere, would put a positive spin (from the employee perspective) on cutting labor costs by getting rid of some working hours.

Yet, as much as employees may take the ability to find second jobs positively, greater adoption of second jobs will essentially empower employers at the expense of the employees. As part-time workers, employees on second job contracts are unlikely to get any benefits aside from pay and are put in a position where they cannot legally fight back if they suddenly find their second jobs gone. The problem is severe if, in the pursuit of getting second jobs, employees also make their first jobs part-time, meaning that despite having two jobs from two different employers, they get no insurance, pensions, and other employee benefits from either one.

For those who are excited about the opportunities of second jobs, weighing the pros and cons of pursuing it is, thus, important. Employees justifiably see second jobs are a gateway to being more fulfilled in their professional careers, as they allow short-term adventures in other positions that they are not familiar with and are loathe to lose their first jobs for. But how much practical benefits and employee rights are lost because of the resulting "career adventurism" should be self-evaluated before taking the plunge. Given that COVID-19 will continue to claim its corporate tolls in the coming months and years, ensuring that personal economic stability should be prioritized over pursuing new opportunities, however fulfilling that sounds.

And ultimately, employees should not be sweet-talked by employers into trading a full-time position with two precarious ones. While employees should do what they can to help their employers through the difficulties of the COVID era, it remains the employer's primary responsibility to take care of employees financially at this time. Given that employers would have much more leverage over government policies than individual employees do, it should remain the employers' responsibility to convince the government to assist should there be any financial difficulties to keep employees employed, not shirk from responsibility by simply encouraging people to work part-time elsewhere.