A Hybrid Boomer Reflection
When remote and hybrid work became the norm, I noticed an old idea resurfacing with a new twist: moonlighting.
Moonlighting, holding a second job in addition to a primary one, has always existed. What changed is how normalized it has become in a hybrid work world. Suddenly, people had reclaimed hours once lost to commuting. Schedules became more flexible. Workdays were no longer defined by physical presence alone.
And many workers, quietly and deliberately, began asking a different question:
What else could I do with this time?
What I’ve Observed About Why People Moonlight
From what I’ve seen, moonlighting is not usually about greed or deception. Moonlighting is about security and control.
People are worried about layoffs.
They’re trying to pay down debt.
They want breathing room financially.
They’re tired of working hard for modest annual raises.
Some people are simply underutilized in their primary role and feel capable of doing more. Hybrid work exposed that unused capacity in a way traditional office life never did.
I’ve heard stories, some extreme, about people juggling multiple roles at once. While those cases are outliers, they illustrate how far this trend can go when opportunity, technology, and motivation align.
The Employer Side Isn’t Wrong Either
I understand why employers are uneasy.
When moonlighting happens quietly, questions naturally arise:
- Where does priority lie?
- Who gets the best energy?
- What happens when meetings conflict?
- Is performance slipping, even if metrics look fine?
The concern is not always the second job itself, it’s whether anyone can truly be fully engaged in multiple demanding roles at the same time.
From that perspective, secrecy becomes the real issue, not ambition.
Why Many Workers See It Differently
At the same time, I understand why workers don’t always see moonlighting as unethical.
For decades, employees gave more time and emotional labor than their compensation reflected. Loyalty was expected, but not always rewarded. Promotions were limited. Raises lagged behind inflation. Job security felt increasingly fragile.
Hybrid work changed the balance of power, not dramatically, but meaningfully.
Workers gained control over how their time is structured. And with that control came choice.
From this angle, moonlighting feels less like exploiting the system and more like responding to it.
The Reality Check I Keep Coming Back To
Moonlighting is not illegal in most cases but that does not mean it’s without risk.
Employment agreements still matter. Conflicts of interest still matter. Performance still matters. And transparency, whether formal or informal, still matters.
I’ve come to believe that moonlighting works best when:
- It doesn’t interfere with primary responsibilities
- It doesn’t violate company policy
- It’s done with clear boundaries
- It’s approached thoughtfully, not impulsively
Without those guardrails, what starts as opportunity can quickly turn into exposure.
What Hybrid Work Really Revealed
Hybrid work didn’t create moonlighting.
It revealed it.
It showed how much unused time existed in traditional work models. Hybrid work highlighted how many workers were capable of more than their roles required. And it forced employers to confront a new reality that productivity is no longer synonymous with visibility.
The future of work won’t eliminate moonlighting. But it will demand more honesty on both sides.
Final Reflection
As a Hybrid Boomer, I don’t see moonlighting as inherently right or wrong.
I see it as a signal that workers want autonomy, and security matters more than ever. Further, hybrid work has permanently shifted how we think about our time, whether we are valued, and our loyalty.
How organizations and individuals respond to that signal will shape the next chapter of work.
And that chapter is still being written.
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