Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Seattle 2.0, and imported to GeekWire as part of our acquisition of Seattle 2.0 and its archival content. For more background, see this post.

By Alyssa Royse

I almost got a job a couple weeks ago. The real kind, withpaychecks, an office and everything. The closer I got, the less I slept. But,you know, a paycheck, that’s good, right?

As I was waffling, a good friend said something to me thatmade things very clear. It matters, for this story, that I was at the SeattleErotic Arts Festival, wearing, essentially, a pink corset from head to toe. Hesaid to me, “you know, if you take that job, they won’t let you work on any ofyour other projects. And they won’t be too happy about photos of that outfit.”

Oh. Uh oh.

That raised some very interesting questions for me aboutwhat employers ask employees to give up,  and why it matters. Mostly, my questions can bedivided into two categories: 1) Intellectual Property and 2) Personal Freedom.In both cases, it seems to me that common sense and integrity should be enough (but I know they’re not.) You still need to know what your contract,and the law, says. And if you screw with people, you probably can and will getscrewed in return.

Intellectual Property

There’s been some chatter in the community about a greatblog post by William Carleton that deals with IP that you  create while youare working for any other employer. It’s worth reading, as it deals with theWashington State statute that says – roughly –  if you invent something whileemployed, your employer does not own your invention as long as you usedABSOLUTELY no company resources, and it does not relate in any way to anythingthat your employer does. Otherwise, it’s theirs.  (That’s a lot if “ifs.”)

The logic is easy to follow here, but you need to understandit. If you are working for a software company that works in the photo space,and as a result you come up with a great software idea that deals with thephoto space, you’re likely breaking laws, contracts and your moralcompass.  If, however, you come upwith an idea for Ye New Ice Cream Shoppe, it’s probably all good.

However, many companies have no-moonlighting clauses thatwould prohibit the Ye New Ice Cream Shoppe too. And that’s where I start topanic. I am not physically capable of intellectual monogamy. My docs call itADHD, I just call it “me.” But, at any given time, I’m incubating a bunch ofideas, pursuing several of them, and closing in on a couple. That hellfireorgy of ideas in my soul is what makes me amazing – and makes me productive. They all feed each other, I need them, I need the energy they create inme – any good idea that I have is the net result of that heady brew. This is something that any entrepreneur can relate to. We’re comfortable with it – “they” are not always.

I suspect that those clauses are in contracts largely to beused as an excuse to terminate someone if needed. After all, there are manypeople who have “real” jobs at major companies and also side-projects that haveno bearing on their corporate bosses.

Ask yourself, are youractions harming your employer in any way? But employers need to ask the samequestion, are your policies harming your employees in any way? (And maybe evenhampering their productivity?) If either one of you are robbing time andproductivity and profit from each other, it’s not going to be a fully healthyand committed relationship. Rethink it.

Personal Freedom

Then there’s the question of the pink corset outfit – and byextension, an employers right to control your personal life.

There are no shortage of no-fraternization policies inCorporate America. Personally, I’ve never included one, and I never will. Ithink that adult people can consensually fraternize with each other howeverthey wish. If, however, that behavior impacts productivity, is used tomanipulate the employment of another person, or push a deal through in a way that puts the company at risk of litigation, then itshould be grounds for termination. If it stays private, then it’s private – of you bring it into the workplace, you get what’s coming.

But what about more nebulous things like “morals clauses?”If it is not impacting your job performance at all, does a private employerhave the right to tell you that you can’t smoke pot? Watch porn? Be seen at asex-positive conference? Practice polyamory? Worship the Flying SpaghettiMonster?

Sure, there are some pretty cut and dry examples. If you arean executive for a company owned by Disney and are caught soliciting sexfrom an underage girl who happens to be an undercover cop, that’s a prettyclear violation. A District Attorney hiring whores, that’s cut and dry. Ahigh-school mentor selling drugs, outta here.

But there is a whole lot of grey area in which people livelives that are creative and expressive and probably allow them the emotional freedom tocreate the kinds of products the feed bottom lines and fuel economies.

I don’t know. That job and I didn’t come together in theend. And I am so glad. I cannot imagine being in a situation in which I was askedto not continue to coming up with new ideas. Or to curtail my costumes,creative expression,  and diverse friends.

I don’t know if this employer would have asked that of me,but I do know that many employers do. I think that’s a shame, because there area lot of intellectually excitable entrepreneurs out there whose spirit would bewell used in Corporate America. Whose innovations could stir things up in justthe right way. And who would probably love a paycheck, insurance, and securityin exchange for the creative energy to drive their employer into the future.
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Alyssa Royse started making corsets when she had to start wearing a collar because of a broken neck. She’s thinking about making corsets and collars for people professionally, but it wouldn’t interfere with anything else she’s doing, and it makes her happy because it is purely creative, and there’s not enough of that in life. 
 
 

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