Stressed, tired, missing meetings, secretive… If you suspect your employee is working multiple jobs, it’s important to their productivity and your business to learn more. Check out the following ways to confirm your suspicions and how to follow-up with your employee.
By Tim Dimoff
Do you suspect you have an employee who may be working two full-time jobs? This may present problems for you; however, it may not be illegal or even required that they let you know. It is often found in remote working situations. It becomes a real issue if it is affecting their work performance at your place of business.
While it can be a challenge to find out if an employee is working multiple jobs, there are steps you can take that might confirm your suspicions, including:
Listen to what they are saying about work. Often, they will mention two different workplaces, especially when discussing their job with other employees.
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Check social media, especially LinkedIn. You can also look them up using a search engine like Google, to see if they come up as a new hire announcement. If they are usually very active on social media and you find they are suddenly quiet, it may also be an indication that they are trying to conceal a second job.
Monitor their amount of sick or absent days. If they’re often out sick or taking days off for personal reasons, it may indicate a second job.
Take notice of how alert they are at work. If they are frequently tired or exhausted, they may be working two jobs, which can be exhausting. Look for yawning, lethargy, and other consistent signs of tiredness. Since this can be due to many factors, it is a good idea to discuss it with your employee. It may be due to a personal issue such as a family illness, etc.
Watch out for constant missed deadlines. If you find your employee is constantly missing deadlines or their work product is not up to standards, this can be a red flag. Be especially alert to this is if they are a recent hire and have not had time to settle in. Don’t jump to conclusions. It is best to discuss the issue and offer constructive feedback to help them improve their performance. If this continues, then it may be a sign that they are working two jobs.
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They are always busy. While this can be due to many different factors, keep an eye on it. It may be that they are working two jobs.
They miss meetings or seem to not be fully engaged. Missing meetings can negatively affect an employee’s ability to do a good job. If they are not available to attend online or in-person, this is a huge red flag. If they are attending online, keep an eye out for constant connectivity issues or if they seem disconnected in any way. While connectivity issues can be due to many reasons, if they keep disappearing it may be due to two simultaneous meetings going on.
If you find your employee is guilty of any of the above, monitor their behavior for a while. Make sure it is not a one-time thing due to some personal circumstance. If these behaviors continue, the first thing to do is to talk to them. You can ask directly if they are working a second job. If you find that these behaviors are due to some other issue, offer to help them. If these behaviors are due to a second job, you have options such as firing them or trying to work out a solution so they don’t need to work two jobs.
Timothy A. Dimoff, CPP, president of SACS Consulting & Investigative Services, Inc., is a speaker, trainer and author and a leading authority in high-risk workplace and human resource security and crime issues. He is a Certified Protection Professional; a certified legal expert in corporate security procedures and training; a member of the Ohio and International Narcotic Associations; the Ohio and National Societies for Human Resource Managers; and the American Society for Industrial Security. He holds a B.S. in Sociology, with an emphasis in criminology, from Dennison University. Contact him at info@sacsconsulting.com.
