Moonlighting And Employees’ Performance

1.0                                                          INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

In developed and developing countries, it has been observed that it is a common practice to hold second job in addition to primary job. Betts (2016) found that it was a persistently well-established global trend and moonlighting practices were found in both skilled and unskilled labor. There are variety of occupational groups that traditionally engage in the practice of moonlighting, such as doctors, lawyers, artists and even farmers. Similarly, teaching profession has been termed as the one with highest number of moonlighters. According to Ara and Akbar (2016), the trend of moonlighting is on the rise in education sector and specifically in public schools. A study by Figlio (2018) states that teacher attitudes, teacher morale, teacher motivation, teacher efficacy, teacher job satisfaction may be considered essential and fundamental to the teaching occupation. However, some previous research findings show that the added desire of seeking second job in addition to the first permanent job may directly affect these teachers since they devote their time in the secondary job activities. Moonlighting is a common practice in Nigeria, like every part of the world. Employees in both private and public sectors are involved in moonlighting. The issue of moonlighting affects all facets of Nigeria both in public and private sectors, especially in education sector. Likewise, civil servants freely moonlight and its influence in facilitating labour supply adjustment during temporary economic downturns or upturns cannot be over emphasized. Moonlighting affects a greater part of the entire workforce in most developed and developing nations (Pouliakas, 2017). In the industrialized world in 2015, 4.9% of workers in the United States of America declared that they are engaged in several jobs aside their major employment and 4% of the 28 European Union member states employed population were multiple job-holders in 2015, with marked variations between member states. It is higher in the Nordic countries with 12% in Iceland, 10% in Norway, 9% in Sweden, 6% to 7% in Finland and Denmark. Moonlighting has been said to account for about 70% of Russian households’ income from informal sector (Pouliakas, 2017).

In Nigeria, several reasons had emerged as to why teachers hold several job or own more than one business. Issues like deprivation of psychological needs which is encouraged through salary insecurity, over tax and delay in the payment of salaries or fringe benefits, high level of dependency ratio, and poor remunerations. These have major consequences on Nigerian public secondary teachers resulting in inefficiencies and low morale among workers who resorted to supplementary jobs to make their living and feed the family (Adelugba, Dabo, Ajayi & Arogundade, 2020). Hitherto, teachers in Nigerian public schools seem to have engaged in more than one job which may affect their performance (Akande, Akindele & Ologunde, 2018). Public secondary schools in Nigeria are perceived to be high beneficiaries of this moonlighting phenomenon. Moonlighting as it has been described as a situation in which an employee is engaged in one or two jobs alongside his primary job. The major reason behind employees’ engagement in several jobs is mainly to have a better standard of living and to meet daily needs. According to Mohd, Aliza and Yarina (2017), moonlighting is synonymous to holding several jobs, dual careers or multiple careers. A person is said to be moonlighting or considered to be moonlighted if he is still performing in his primary job and at the same time he has another job which fetch him extra income. According to Betts (2016) employees engaged in moonlighting to supplement their primary job income. In addition, moonlighting include outdoor work, which means holding single or several part-time jobs at a time. This engagement usually happens to someone who is a career holder, whose career is more dominant and acts as the main occupation.

In employees attempt to balance their multiple jobs to improve their needs, their primary job is affected and sometimes, they forget to perform their given tasks at the appropriate time. This is one of the major problems encountered by the government and private sector in addressing the issue of poor performance especially in the education sector. Large numbers of employees are engaged in moonlighting without the consent their primary employer. Moonlighting practice shows the level of satisfaction of workers with their workplace. The causes of several jobs holding by employees can be understood by analyzing the relationship between the job satisfaction and moonlighting. If an employee is not well motivated, compensated and not satisfied with work hours or work conditions on their main job, such employee will be forced to look for another job while still on the main job. It has been confirmed that aside financial issues, job satisfaction is also a motive of employees moonlighting. Kaukab and Aisha, (2018) stated that work related factors contribute to the elements of job satisfaction. According to Lambert and Hogan, (2019), some work related factors may be economical, psychological or social in nature. Their study confirmed moonlighting as a result of financial gluttony, but this is not the only reason that triggers employees to hold second job in addition to the main job. According to Kaukab et al., (2018), labor market conditions is also a factor contributing to moonlighting. For some workers, it is a hedge against their risk of unemployment due to escalated sense of uncertainty in the labor market and for others it is a way of gaining satisfaction by development of skills and credentials.