Kashim Chowdhury, a civil servant in London, was charged with “cheating” on his job and summoned into court in April 2025. His alleged crime was “polygamous working.” He’d been holding down three full-time government jobs at the same time and was sharing his time, efforts, and dedication among them. Chowdhury has denied the charges.
This situation isn’t unique to the U.K. Polygamous workers are operating worldwide, juggling more than one full-time job without informing their employers that they’re doing so. The practice has also been referred to as being “over-employed.”
What Is Polygamous Working?
The rise in polygamous workers has been ascribed to an increase in remote work-from-home opportunities that largely began with the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that the number of employees who worked from home more than doubled from 2019 through 2023, rising from 5.7% to 13.8% in the U.S. alone. Their number increased from about 9 million to more than 22 million American workers.3
Technology that allows employees to work from a distance has played a part as well. This type of work arrangement makes it easy for employees to allocate their work hours to more than one company or employer.
“As remote work arrangements and flexible scheduling become more common, many workers have chosen to hold down two or three jobs at a time for periods overlapping their work commitment, usually without the knowledge of part or all of the employers involved,” according to Kelsey Szamet, a partner at Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers in Encino, California.
Is Polygamous Working Illegal?
It’s not illegal to hold down more than one job. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has indicated that 8.43 million U.S. workers held multiple jobs in 2024. More than half of them held part-time jobs in addition to a full-time employment role but about 376,000 of them dedicated themselves to more than one full-time job. The Bureau defines full-time work as 35 hours or more per week.4
“There’s no express law that prohibits the practice of holding down multiple employment positions unless the activity interferes with a valid contractual commitment,” Szamet says. “If a person has signed an agreement that includes exclusivity, conflict-of-interest, or confidentiality clauses, holding down multiple employments – especially with competitive entities or during scheduled work hours – can be considered a breach of contract with possible legal consequences.”
Is Polygamous Working Unethical?
The term “polygamy” implies cheating because it denotes overlapping relationships. And where there’s cheating, there are often those who are willing to help make it possible. TikTok has released videos providing insight into hacks such as “mouse jiggling” that enable an employee to appear to be busy on their laptop when, in fact, they’re servicing another employer.5
Reddit has also allegedly shared workers’ guidance about how to attend two video conferences at the same time using multiple laptops.2
Is this unethical? “It depends on how it’s done,” advises Brittany Truskowski, COO of Grand Canyon Law Group in Arizona. “If somebody is out there with a transparent process and doing the job competently, that’s one thing. If, however, they’re hiding it, gaming the system, or double-dipping on hours, that goes too far. The larger problem is trust, and once that’s violated, it’s difficult to repair.”
Source – https://www.investopedia.com/cheating-on-your-job-11731205