3 Simple Tips for Managing Employees with Side Hustles

by Laura Rubenstein .

I joke that ever since my youngest child has taken up golf, my “side hustle” is acting as his caddy on the weekends. All kidding aside, side hustles are on the rise. Side hustles, for those who are new to the term, are basically second jobs that bring in supplemental funds. For those of us who have been around for a bit, it’s the more modern term for “moonlighting.”

If you’ve worked in an office setting, you may have noticed Avon or Arbonne catalogues conveniently left in the lunchroom by a co-worker who doubles as a beauty sales rep. Some common side hustles these days are driving for Lyft or Uber, bartending, tutoring, taking on-line surveys, blogging, on-line freelancing, selling hand-made crafts, dogsitting and babysitting.

A May 2022 survey of 2,032 workers found that 40% had a side hustle.[1]?An earlier survey in October 2021 found that 69% of 1,250 fully remote U.S. workers had a second job. Of that number, 37% had two full-time jobs.[2]?Many of those holding a second job reportedly did so out of financial necessity rather than simply enjoyment.

So, what should an employer do if they suspect they are not their employee’s one and only??

1. Communicate.

Managers and HR should be constantly communicating with workers - whether a formal documented check-in or a casual conversation around the water cooler/video chat. Employees need to know that the company cares about them, so asking (and not prying) about how they spent their weekend, or if they went anywhere interesting after work last night, demonstrates an interest in them as individuals beyond the 9-5. These conversations may reveal interests, hobbies, relationships and what the employee may be doing for extra income. If a trusted relationship has been established, the employee may reveal their lack of motivation for the work they’re currently assigned or disclose other passions they’re pursuing. Having an open discussion about the employee’s side hustle and treating them like an adult, demonstrates respect. That respect should be mutual.?

2. Keep an Eye on Performance.

Signs an employee may have a second job include: missed deadlines, falling asleep on the job, clocking in late, leaving early, being MIA during the workday, hocking outside services or products in the workplace, or researching issues unrelated to work during worktime. A lack of productivity is a sure sign that something else is interfering with their primary duties and responsibilities. An experienced HR professional will know how and when to approach the employee and whether to issue a warning, discipline or address it in another way altogether.

3. Consider Creating a Policy.

Higher level executives are expected to focus their time throughout the entire day on their employment and thus, would not seem to have time for outside employment. Many employment contracts state that executive leadership cannot have other employment without the express permission of the employer. But companies need to think carefully about whether they want to limit what their other employees do on their free time. One approach is to have a policy that prohibits employees from working for competitors or taking on outside work that interferes with their role with their primary employer. An opposite approach is to treat employees like adults and trust that they will be loyal and devote their full time and attention to their full-time job. Sometimes the more rigid the policy, the more apt the employee is to hide their side hustle.?

For questions on how to manage employees in your workplace, contact us at?www.RKWlawgroup.com

[1]?Source: Zapler, June 2022, as reported by Susan Ladika in her article?Side Hustles, published in SHRM Magazine, Fall 2022.

[2]?Source: ResumeBuilder.com as reported by Susan Ladika in her article?Side Hustles, published in SHRM Magazine, Fall 2022.

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: The Risks of the Free Online Will

by Morgan Dilks, Esq.

A friend recently reached out to me seeking advice on the preparation of a will.?He has two young children, a spouse, a home, retirement savings, and a rainy-day fund.?He knows the importance of memorializing his intentions; however, he was interested in preparing the will himself using an online tool that he found for free.?I quickly advised against this.

Free online wills are nothing new.?Websites providing very basic estate planning materials have existed in one form or another for as long as the internet has been around (and even before that if we count off-the-shelf computer software).?Some websites provide forms (loaded with self-protecting caveats prepared by the author) for free to the user, paid for by the advertising revenue the website brings in by hosting their website. Others provide these services free of charge to the testator (the individual making the will), who often possesses some affiliation with a not-for-profit organization. In that case, the website charges the cost of the tools provided for preparation of the will to the not-for-profit organization (who understandably hopes that you’ll keep them in mind when deciding where your assets will go).

The four basic estate planning documents are a will, a trust, power of attorney for financial matters, and an advance health care directive.?Some “free” websites have all of these documents available?only?if you purchase their higher-end packages.?Some websites offer limited attorney consultation (for a fee), while others merely offer a page of frequently asked questions (which often leaves much to be desired). If you plan to utilize any or all of these documents as provided by a do-it-yourself (“DIY”) website, expect to be offered a fill-in-the-blank approach that may not be what you desire.?

The advantage of using a DIY service is that you’ll have a plan.?This may work for individuals who own no real estate, have no spouse or children, and have limited assets they want to leave to one person.?

When we get into the complexities of family dynamics and possible trust language specific to your situation, DIY estate planning can lead to more problems than solutions.?While you may have ideas as to how you want to dispose of your assets after you die, you may not know the particulars of the case law and legislation that have evolved into the state’s probate code. If your will and estate documents are not properly prepared, you could be saving a small amount of money now and planting the seeds for complex and costly litigation among your beneficiaries later. Most importantly, your objectives may not be achieved.

The cost savings, time savings, and the surface simplicity of a DIY online will are all attractive reasons to use those tools; however, your specific goals are unlikely to be achieved through the use of generic forms.?The advice that an experienced estates and trusts attorney can provide is far more valuable on a dollar-for-dollar basis than the money an individual can save using the DIY method.?Many of us would hire an electrician before we’d risk an electric shock by missing a critical step in the YouTube video we watched.?Many of us would hire a plumber before causing a costly flood to our homes.?The same holds true for preparing complex legal documents to manage the distribution of assets you’ve worked so hard to acquire over the years.?

The British idiom “penny wise and pound foolish” describes activity in which one is careful with small amounts of money at the risk of large amounts of money.?A similar American proverb was famously coined by Benjamin Franklin: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”?By utilizing free forms provided on the internet a few pennies can be saved today, but the mess it could create may cost your beneficiaries significantly in the future.?An experienced estates and trusts attorney can advise you through this critically important process, and the dollars spared by working with a proper professional will make the dollars spent seem like pennies by comparison.

When it comes to the distribution of our assets when we’re gone, we all need a plan. RKW Law Group is here to help.