If you had an employer, whose rule was "no moonlighting, you need to work x, y, and z hours",

[Deja Q]

but didn't pay enough, would you keep the job?

And would said employer then have a right to complain nobody wants the work?

[Marrah_G]

1. It would depend how much I liked my job.

[Selatius]

2. If they did that to employees, it might be in order to hire foreign workers in the end.

By making it "hard" to find American workers, they could then apply for foreign workers by citing a "labor shortage," one they brought on themselves on purpose.

[mdmc]

3. if I can work x, y, and z hours AND do something else that I enjoy

I would.

I would keep my low paying xyz job and moonlight. XYZ inc. would never know.

[onehandle]

4. I've been that employer. (By order of higher ups)

I ended up with crappy workers.

This situation didn't last long.

[Hydra]

5. Depends on what the side benefits are

But in general, I would say no...unless nothing else was available. Bad work is better than no work, some days.

[mike_c]

6. as you've described the situation, probably not....

First, consider the basic economics of the situation. Most employees sell their time to their employers, who in effect rent access to a certain number of hours use of persons with particular skills. But from most employees' perspectives, the commodity of value they have to offer is TIME, i.e. hours of their lives.

Since that's the real commodity most employers are paying for-- certainly anyone who works for wages is selling time first and foremost-- it must remain under the seller's control. Employers work hard to prevent employees from perceiving their control over the only commodity of real value they possess, but nonetheless they do control its use.

So when an employer says "no moonlighting" they are effectively undermining workers' control of their time. The only circumstance in which that would be acceptable to me is if the employer PAID for that additional time under terms agreeable to the employee-- but even then I think it's worth noting that no employee should cede that much control to any employer in a normal wage earner relationship.

[Edweird]

7. I moonlight anyway. Fuck 'em.

As long as you're not a cop or something.....

[Renew Deal]

8. It's your time.

And if it's your time, the employer realy doesn't have a right unless it's a direct competitor.

[Throd]

10. That is my situation

My employer is well aware that I work for a lot of other interests. As long as I don't work for a direct competitor, they said they have no problem. Everyone is happy with the situation.

[AngryOldDem]

9. I'm getting tired of people having to choose between their sense of self-worth and paying the bills.

Not to mention choosing between their physical health, their mental health, and sense of well-being.

I worked with a guy last weekend whose shift ran from 11 p.m. Saturday to 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

Slave labor is back. It just pays slightly better these days.

Oh, and to answer your question, no. The employer has NO room to complain.

[zbdent]

11. on a side note ...

sometimes people don't realize that, if an employer ain't a real dick, and treats his or her employees with respect (not kissing their asses, not bending over backwards, but also not treating them like shit), people will do what they can to make sure that the employer succeeds.

The employer may be saying the above rule, but if the employer is right there, sleeves rolled up and hands dirty, right with the employees who have to work those hours, the employees probably would work their asses off to help them.

If, however, said employer dictates said rules, and then goes golfing during the work day, and other such things, then he/she would be entitled to the whole fist, no lube ...

[Growler]

12. In this era of "at-will" firings, you don't owe your employer

anything, beyond doing the job they pay you for.

If you want to work someplace else on your own time, do it, just don't tell your employer about it.

[tech3149]

13. My response would be FOAD

I spent the last 15 years I worked trying to keep the company from committing suicide. I loved the work and the people I worked with. I was happy to work unpaid hours to make sure the customers were taken care of. I took the job for peanuts and proved my worth and got reasonable pay increases. I watched others who were well qualified and valuable assets come and go because they weren't appreciated or couldn't tolerate the less than ethical behavior of the company.

I'm done with that and the MBA style management that consider employees as a liability rather than an asset. If and when I interview a company for possible employment, I will be thorough and exhaustive in researching their ethical and moral background. I'll work with people I respect and who respect me, screw the money.