Taking advantage of the flexibility offered by teleworking, American employees have chosen to combine two full-time jobs. The
Wall Street Journal
reveals how some were able to double their wages by landing a new job without notifying their employers. As this dual activity is not prohibited by US law, disillusioned teleworkers take advantage of an environment that they consider uncertain and no longer guaranteeing job security. “
We are touted for the freedom of the market, so why not take advantage of it?
“, Explains the founder of Overemployed, a site that provides organizational advice to“
multi-workers
”.
Read alsoCan a company lower the wages of its teleworking employees?
With telecommuting, these employees realized that they didn't need 40 hours to cope with their weekly workload.
In search of a new position, they finally kept their old job, and combined both.
By offloading part of their work to colleagues, declining certain requests or even delaying the deadlines for certain projects, they manage to juggle their various tasks.
A double professional life
For these employees, the challenge is not to give the best of themselves to their two companies, but to optimize their time to earn twice as much without working day and night.
Working for both an insurance company and a telecommunications company, an anonymous woman testifies: “
Is my intention to be a model employee?
Not really, I just do what is necessary not to be fired
”.
Read also Work: it's hard to start your first telecommuting job
The operation is lucrative for these qualified employees. The half-dozen “
multi-workers
” interviewed by the American daily report salaries ranging from 200,000 to 600,000 dollars, including bonuses and stock options. This financial gain, however, is accompanied by the anxiety of seeing the lie discovered. A software engineer expresses his concern in this way: "
I wake up in the morning telling myself that maybe this is the day someone will find out the truth
".
This double life then requires organization.
Some use color codes so they don't get lost in their navigation tabs, while others manage to attend two meetings at the same time using their phone and computer.
To avoid getting caught live, employees concede to avoid meetings as much as possible on the pretext that they are not useful.
The Overemployed site goes so far as to offer advice to avoid getting caught: do not update your LinkedIn profile, do not work in companies that are too similar or even avoid start-ups in which the workload is too heavy. ...
Stricter French law
This practice is not completely prohibited in the United States.
There is no law across the Atlantic that limits weekly working time or prohibits the combination of two jobs, according to lawyers interviewed by the
Wall Street Journal
.
The problem is contractual, the confidentiality or non-competition clauses can be broken and lead to dismissal in the event of discovery by the employer.
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In France, it would be much more difficult for employees to combine two full-time jobs. While there is no strict prohibition, two principles make it technically impossible to work for two different companies: the limitation of working time and the obligation of loyalty. Maître Johan Zenou, an expert in labor law, explains that "it
is impossible for an employee to work more than 48 hours per week
". Difficult, therefore, to consider accumulating two full-time jobs in France, except to start as a freelance. For independent executives, working time is governed "
by a fixed day rate which limits the number of days worked
and not the number of hours
", explains Me Zenou. "
This number is fixed by collective agreements and cannot exceed 230 days,
”explains Me Alexandra Sabbe Ferri, also a specialist in labor law.
Read alsoCan a company lower the wages of its teleworking employees?
Another major obstacle posed by the law is the obligation of loyalty, which prohibits any employee, even part-time, from "
working in another similar job or competing with the one he already has
" explains Me. Zenou.
If he breaks this obligation, the worker can be sued before the industrial tribunal.
Exclusivity clauses can also be added to the contract on a case-by-case basis.
Risks of sanctions
If a French employee were to lie to combine two full-time jobs, he would expose his employers to "
criminal penalties for exceeding the maximum working time
" according to Me Sabbe Ferri. They would indeed have to prove that they had no knowledge of the situation. According to the lawyer, "
the first employer could be released from his responsibility
" but the second employer would have more difficulty in convincing of his good faith because "
he is legally bound to check, before hiring
that the employee is free of everything commitment
”. The employee runs the risk of "
dismissal for serious misconduct for the two jobs he holds
".
