Why the decline in moonlighting is good news for the tech sector - and techies

livemint.com:

TCS reported even higher numbers. Globally, the internal training budget of Fortune 500 companies exceeded $360 billion, according to Research.com data. More than the costs, employers are worried about data confidentiality and strategy leaks to rivals.

Since a bulk of the revenues earned by Indian IT companies comes from outsourcing, with stringent data confidentiality clauses with clients, moonlighting can seriously hurt their relationships with clients. Even those companies which have formally allowed employees to pick up a second job – like Swiggy, for instance – do so with a lot of ifs and buts attached. But an employer’s definition of side work varies greatly from what employees think a second or moonlighting gig is.

“Be it volunteering with an NGO, working as a dance instructor, or content creation for social media, Swiggy firmly believes that working on such projects outside of one’s full-time employment can significantly contribute to both professional and personal development of an individual," the company’s policy announcement said. Others may not have formalised such announcements, but most have no problems with employees doing things outside of work which don’t conflict with the company’s area of operations. TCS’s global head of the digital workplace unit, Krish Ashok, for instance, is a well-known humourist, a regular columnist, a trained musician who both performs and uploads compositions on streaming platforms and is a noted food blogger and author, all of which have in no way impacted his career.