IBM India MD sends strong note on moonlighting

Amid the ongoing debates critiquing the ethics behind moonlighting, global tech giant IBM has warned its Indian employees against it, saying critical client data and commercial assets could be at risk.

“While an IBMer's time outside of work is their own, it also requires them to avoid engaging in activities that create a conflict of interest,” read an internal note from India managing director Sandip Patel sent to the employees.

"..if you advance a personal interest, whether directly or indirectly, at the expense of IBM's interest, it is treated as a serious conflict of interest and violation of trust," the note added.


“IBM's policy is also fundamentally important to trust our clients’ place when they entrust us with the transformation, access and management of critical commercial assets including data and systems,” the mail further noted.

IBM is said to have over 140,000 employees in India - making it one of its largest employee bases globally.

Patel reiterated his stance made last month that people are employed by IBM, and that they sign an agreement assuring they would work only for the company.

"So, notwithstanding what people can do with the rest of their time, it's not ethical to do that (moonlighting). That's my position,” Patel had said during the IBM Think conference in Mumbai last month.

The IT Industry is divided on this practice. While Wipro sacked 300 techies for moonlighting and its executive chairman Rishad Premji called it "cheating". Infosys, on the other hand, allowed its employees to indulge in external gigs with prior approval that were not in direct competition with Infosys' business.