‘Daylighters’ Pull Double Duty

Juggling Act: As if retention isn’t enough of a concern, human resources executives now might have to confront a different problem: a reported rise in the number of people who work a second job while on company time. Dubbed “daylighters” in an article by CNN.com, these are people that sneak off to bathroom cubicles or other hideaways during the workday to transact business unrelated to their main jobs. Among the factors cited for this workaholic mania are retirees who need to replace income from an earlier job as well as younger people seeking to ease into a different profession. The article notes that there is no hard research on the phenomenon, although it provides several purported anecdotes of people who are “daylighting” during the workday. Remaining unanswered is what impact pursuing these secondary professions has on job productivity and performance. Some employers reportedly are aware of the phenomenon, although most apparently are not.