Scoundrels in the Workplace - Employees and Employers

Over Employment is is the opposite of over-working!

In the pandemic era (2020-2022), there was lots of talk about whether remote work was going to be permanent. I always held the opinion that some people would stay remote because bosses learned what's possible - and how to manage people remotely. But I also believed that most people would go back to the office for a variety of reasons.

And, overall, most of the people in the world would finally get a realistic introduction to remote work. In the world of tech, many of us have done some remote work for thirty years. And all of us have been able to do 90% of our jobs remotely for at least fifteen years.

For me, the most unanticipated trend to emerge from the remote work movement was the emergence of a new generation of scoundrels in the workplace. For a taste of this, see the site https://overemployed.com/ or just Google "over employment."

Over employment is basically taking two or more fulltime jobs. That's the basic description without commentary. Once I start to add my thoughts to the mix, I find it hard to believe that anyone thinks this is ethical.

Note: This is NOT a discussion of contractors who take on multiple fractional engagements. This is not holding down two or more part-time jobs. These folks collect fulltime salaries from employers for multiple fulltime jobs. If the jobs actually require fulltime work, then I believe these folks are thieves. The most generous thing you can say about them is that they are giving one or more employers less than a good fulltime effort.

If you've already put in forty hours with another company, and then you want to put in another forty hours, that second forty hour block is going to be far less effective, creative, or productive. If you add a third forty-hour job, then it's probably the case that no one is getting their money's worth.

If your response is, "It's the employer's fault for making it possible for me to take their money and give them little or no work in return," you have seriously flawed ethical standards. 

In fact, if you read through the web sites dedicated to this concept, you'll find stories about over-working, massive stress, and schemes to get away with something that everyone agrees is wrong. BUT, they're "sticking it to the man," so it's okay. The overall theme is, "do whatever it takes to get the money, but do as little productive work as possible." In other words, massive effort can be expelled to log into multiple sites, keep your mouse moving to trick tracking systems, and generate random emails from appropriate addresses all day long. Just don't do anything you're being paid for.

Like all other trends where someone's getting rich, there are a few people earning $750,000 or more holding down multiple jobs and doing little or no actual work. Their strategy is to just cash checks until they get fired, then move on to the next fake job.

Most people can't (and don't want to) work this hard at stealing money from nameless, faceless employers. But it does raise the question: Is this just a big pay-back for bad bosses over the years? Is all of this made possible because there are lots and lots of horrible bosses?

I'm afraid the answer is YES. Many of the people who read this blog became independent consultants because of horrible bosses. In fact, horrible, immoral bosses who care more about money and their own bonuses than they ever did about their team or company culture are everywhere.

Looking Forward: Do What's Right

None of us can change the past. But we all control how we will behave in the future.

Luckily for my readers, this is really a problem for large businesses. If you only have ten or twenty employees, you probably work closely enough to know whether or not you're getting value for what you pay. And, to be honest, your culture is still something you can control from the top down every day. If you have a slacker giving 20% effort, that's really your fault.

BUT, we operate in a world where this behavior exists and is growing. Eventually, those scoundrels will become victims to the pyramid in which they are currently a a brick in the wall. When that happens, they'll come looking for a real job. Most of them have enough technical skills to get an entry level tech job, fake up their resume, and interview well. But their "work ethic" has been completely focused on pretending to work. 

These folks might learn to be good, hard workers. But you can't guarantee that. Here's what you need to do going forward. (Note, most of this is common sense, old advice that you've been ignoring for years. Now you have to actually do it.)

1. Verify resume information. Ask for and verify references.

2. Ask for and verify transcripts or proof of training.

3. Give applicants simple, reasonable skills tests. Ideally, this will be in your office so you can monitor.

4. Sign employment contracts that state the number of hours expected, along with job requirements.

5. Keep your employees engaged with good culture, decent pay, and a great work place.

Please do not go down the road of the big, faceless corporations that caused this problem in the first place. That means, do not monitor their email, their camera, their mouse movement, and so forth. Yes, there are tools to spy on your employees. But if you use them, you will create a layer of expense that only serves the purpose of alienating your workers.

For the most part, we want to believe we are exempt from these problems in small business. But doesn't that sound like the client who says that they're too small to be victims of a phishing attack? 

The world of employment has changed. And whether you like it or not, this affects your business. You are now hiring in this environment and these folks are out there. Luckily, the steps you need to take are simple and inexpensive. 

And they're just plain good business, too. Luckily, most works take pride in their work and gain fulfillment from a job well done. This is particularly true in companies with a good culture and a long-term view of the future.

-- -- -- 

Have you experienced the effects of "over employment" or something similar? I'd love to hear about it.

Additional Related Material

We covered this a bit (ten minutes) on the Killing It Podcast:

https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com/2023/10/episode-205-overworking-ai-ar-and-more/ 
(Overworking topic begins at the five minute mark.)

I did a Relax Focus Succeed video about a recent Internet blow-up regarding employees and employers. Basically, it's a conversation about how people should go into the marketplace whether looking for a job or looking for an employee.

My main point there is that we should start from a place of honesty. But, obviously, that's a complicated thing. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNUN7P6rIsk. 

:-)