'Pay people better, they won't moonlight': Twitterati flag plight of freshers vis-a-vis CEOs enjoying multiple positions

The moonlighting debate in India has divided the IT industry as many top companies are against the practice, calling it ‘unethical’. While companies like Wipro, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have criticised the idea, some firms and top officials have supported the trend highlighting that captive work models are not for the modern techies.  

Just like the IT companies, Twitter users are also divided over work ethics and moonlighting. While most users favoured moonlighting citing varied reasons, some believe it will have long-term implications on work record. 

Explaining the positives of moonlighting, one user wrote: “You can easily make 50 to 100$ Per hour. Monthly if u work for 40 hours, u make 4000$ ,3,20,000 Rs per month.” 

Also read: Founders of Infosys, Flipkart, Zoho were moonlighting at their jobs, says Harpreet Singh Saluja of NITES

Citing rising costs, inflation, and survival, netizens said moonlight could be considered legal if taken permission from the employer. 

Some netizens even questioned how CEOs, founders, and other high-profile individuals can hold multiple positions in sister companies. They said that this practice should also be called moonlighting. 

Moonlighting concept refers to employees taking up side gigs apart from their primary job to earn some extra money. The concept got popular during the pandemic after many firms adopted a remote-working model.

Also read: 'Very harsh decision': IT employees shocked at Wipro firing staff over moonlighting 

The moonlighting debate first got traction after Wipro chairperson Rishad Premji expressed his displeasure on the concept, highlighting work ethics. In contrast, Minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has backed moonlighting, and said firms should adopt to the employee-entrepreneur mindset of today’s techies. 

Also read: Moonlighting debate: Rajeev Chandrasekhar backs trend, but cautions against contract violations

Companies on moonlighting 

Most IT companies including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and IBM have condemned moonlighting. While Wipro sacked 300 employees, Infosys has warned its staff that working on a second job while having a contract with them can lead to termination. IBM too has made it clear that the dual employment practice is not ethically right and not acceptable. TCS COO N Ganapathy Subramaniam had told Business Today, “Moonlighting is an ethical issue, we need to inculcate the ethics and (idea of) being right and if we make something like this for short-term gains, in the long-term we will lose out." 

Also read: Moonlighting is going to be a fact of life: Mohandas Pai

However, C P Gurnani, CEO of Tech Mahindra, had supported the concept saying that if employees kept up their efficiency and productivity right, it is not a problem. 
Also read: IBM boss is against moonlighting, says dual employment is not ethically right