Moonlighting

 The Covid period was indeed a leveller. We all remember the extremely tragic exodus of the poor 'blue collar workers', so to say. Many lost their jobs, and had to return home. Equally tough was the situation of the cyber workforce.  Despite being highly educated, and graduating from colleges that charged astronomical fees,  they, too, had to share the fate of losing jobs, and returning to hometown. 

Slowly the online mode settled as an alternative. In a way, it was the 'work from anywhere' module. Many I/T employees hence started working from two tier and/or three tier cities. There was an unavoidable pay cut most often.

May be, moonlighting was a response to this precarious situation. Now  in the post Covid period, if it is indeed so, given the constant threat of a newer and highly contagious variant doing the rumour mill rounds, this practice is a cybercrime!

Many giants in the I/T world are asking ( in fact, sacking) such workers to leave. The apparent reason is that it is a cybersecurity issue in a way because moonlighting may lead to such employees leaking sensitive info to rival companies.

Well, i would not know. If an employee wants to steal and sell projects, she/he can do so even if she/he is not moonlighting. Instead of the pink slip, hence, would not it be wiser to strengthen the anti piracy and pro secrecy clause in the contract? 

Similarly, an employee does not need to moonlight as an excuse for not concentrating on her/his job. Many full-timers are excellent at it, too. Do not you believe me? Go to any college. Most all lecturers sincerely teaching there, if at all lectures happen, that is, would be the CHB's teaching in two or three colleges to make the ends meet.

As for the permanent full-time staff, none can touch them once the probation period is over. The very fact, moreover, that they managed to get a full time permanent job signifies that they have godfathers and fairy mothers in the right place. Who would dare to touch such mighty masters  even if they do not conduct classes,  not complete the portion, not bother to teach with a passion for learning?

With college after college going autonomous, the situation is tougher, and worse still, because in such a context, you design the question paper as per the portion you have bothered to teach. 

Not that  such gems do not exist in the affiliated colleges. Even in the affiliated colleges, there are worthy wonders who hardly manage to conduct twenty of the mandatory forty five lectures per three credits course. Such darlings of the management know how to indirectly hint at the possible questions as their mafia gang members are on the Paper Setting Committee!

Even then, of the three papers thus set, something has to be taught. That condition is extremely lax and/or irrelevant in autonomous contexts as you yourself design the question paper.

 On the contrary, moonlighting lecturers go out of their way to make their course ideal, conducting, if necessary, unpaid extra lectures, as their possible appointment next year, beyond the whimsicality of the Head (quite a misnomer, this one!) and/or Principal, may depend on it! 

In other words, moonlighting is not always bad. Sure, to all generalizations, there are exceptions. There can be sincere full timers, and insincere part timers. Percentage wise, however, rules seemingly dominate exceptions! May be, material conditions, in all senses of this term, demand such sincerity in most cases.

When times are so tough, instead of sacking the moonlighters, why not make permanent contracts ironclad regarding secrecy/piracy?  A person, moreover, should have the right to use his/her spare time in his/her own way, without being dictated by the mighty employers, right? Theoretically and/or practically, in other words, sacking is not the solution, especially when robotics revolution is already at the doorstep, with one foot firmly wedged in!What say?

Pratima@Sensitive solutions seem better than sacking!