ASK HR:Is this pure jealousy or do my colleagues have a genuine point?

Q. I am a secretary employed by my home County. On the side, I sell snacks to my colleagues. The business is doing so well, I no longer look forward to my salary. While I’m convinced that this side hustle does not affect my performance at work, some people think I’m distracted, and say I might be sacked. There is no clause in my contract prohibiting such engagement. Are my colleagues simply jealous, or am I putting my job on the line?

Dear Madam Secretary, I admire your keen eye for business opportunities. You saw a gap at your workplace and quickly moved to plug it. Now what started as a side gig is now helping to securing your future far much better than your current employer is. You are an inspiration. Now challenges have come knocking, the most obvious being the perception that you are taking advantage of your employer’s time to run your business, and unless you change your strategy, this is likely to cost you your job and most probably your clients.

There are some options you can explore. You need to separate yourself from the distribution process and employ someone to be the direct contact with your customers. You will not only be creating employment, but will have potential to increase your reach and supply to other nearby offices. I am sure there is nothing in your employer’s code of conduct that stops you from running a business, as long as it is done outside your working hours and it is not in direct competition with what your employer does.

I see many risks in your failure to see the real danger of your supervisor and other colleagues doubting your assertion that you are not stealing your employer’s time to run your gig. Instead of seeing this as jealousy, remember that if you get transferred or sacked, your side hustle will come to an end. I note you have thought about resigning to focus fully on this business, but before you proceed, you need to think about your expenses and be sure this venture will have potential to support you. Think of risks such as what would happen if you are denied access to the premises. I encourage you to explore possibility of growing your customers, and if you have a solid plan that can be executed, go for it. To quote Einstein “A ship is always safe at the shore, but that is not what it is made for”.