"The labour market is transforming with emerging trends like freelancing, side hustles, gig work, and moonlighting, which are reshaping workplaces and traditional work cultures. It has opened up enormous opportunities for employees searching for and practicing alternative employment. Moonlighting has become a major challenge in the IT sector due to the proliferation of Internet companies and their employee-friendly labour practices. Moonlighting through platform work practiced during frequent lockdowns continues as a safety cushion for tech-savvy IT professionals facing massive layoffs due to technology upgrades, financial insecurity, and limited opportunities for career growth. This study adds to the existing literature by analyzing the influence of gig economy attractiveness on moonlighting intentions. Data collected from 186 IT/ITES professionals revealed that gig economy attractiveness strongly influences employees' intentions to moonlight, with this relationship being stronger among younger employees compared to more experienced ones. As moonlighting is a challenge faced by HR globally, the study provides insights for organizations and policymakers to develop strategies to address the benefits and attractiveness of the gig economy in tackling the potential challenges of employee moonlighting. This facilitates the implementation of thoughtful interventions to address moonlighting intentions among employees."

Support: Digital