Hospitals in Hyderabad witness surge in patients with moonlighting-related ailments

Hyderabad: Hospitals in Hyderabad have reported a surge in patients with brain and heart-related ailments caused by moonlighting. Moonlighting, a practice of working for a business of the same niche while being a permanent employee of another, has gained momentum due to remote working and reduced job security since the Covid pandemic. Although there is a debate on whether moonlighting is ethical, its side effects have not been discussed much.

Doctors from Hyderabad, who have treated many patients who suffered brain and heart-related ailments due to moonlighting, have a word of caution.

Hyderabad, a key IT and ITes destination in the country, is home to millions of technology professionals. There would be thousands of professionals who might be working for more than one company, and this trend would have only multiplied since the start of 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and work from home became the new normal. However, hospitals in Hyderabad have now started receiving more and more patients with complaints and ailments which are believed to be the side-effects of moonlighting.

“We are a rehabilitation facility where we help patients who have suffered a brain stroke or heart attack or underwent some surgical procedure to recover. Over the past six months, we have received patients from various hospitals in the city who needed recovery after suffering a brain stroke or heart attack,” said Vijay Bathina, Director and Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, at Uchchvas Transitionalcare.

“The most common factor is that they were all IT professionals, they all were doing more than one job, they all worked for more than 60 hours a week, and were working late into the night. These three common factors indicate that moonlighting, which is a growing phenomenon among the new generation professionals, has started impacting their health.”