Anyone else walking a side hustle through Midtown without telling HR? I work in ops at a financial services firm, and the employee handbook has one of those blanket clauses about 'no outside employment or freelance work without written consent.' I started doing weekend dog walking on the UES through an app plus a couple of neighbor referrals. Pretty low-key, mostly cash/Venmo, nothing related to my day job. Last weekend a coworker saw me with a very excited golden retriever on 86th and made a joke about me 'finally escaping to dog walking.' Now I’m wondering if I should get ahead of it and say something to HR, or just keep my head down and maybe not walk that route on weekends. What do people actually do?

Read the actual clause word for word before you do anything!! A lot of those 'no outside employment' things are about conflicts of interest, competitors, client work, or using company equipment/time—not walking a neighbor’s dog on a Saturday! I got super deep into this when I was doing resume edits on the side. If your handbook says 'written consent required,' technically you might need it, but half the time HR won't care unless it's in the same industry. Have you tried checking whether your company has a separate conflict-of-interest form? Some places just want you to declare it and they approve in a day. Also, do NOT mention it as 'employment' if it's occasional pet-sitting gig work; the wording matters! Keep the texts about it off your work phone!

Oh wow, I just started doing cat sitting through an app in Brooklyn and didn't even think about this. My job is pretty chill but we have an employee handbook too. How did your coworker know it was paid? Couldn't it just look like you were walking a friend's dog? Now I'm wondering if I should take my profile down before someone from work sees it. Do people really get fired for this in the city? I thought it was like a don't-ask-don't-tell thing.

Don't overthink it, but also don't volunteer. The coworker probably already forgot about it by the next morning. I've seen people get jammed up for side work only when it was a competitor, off-the-books consulting for a vendor, or they used a company laptop. A dog walk is about as dangerous as selling cookies at a stoop sale. I'd keep your mouth shut unless HR asks directly, maybe take the app off your work phone and don't post your side gig on LinkedIn. The city runs on side hustles; most managers don't want to know.

Have you checked what the app's insurance actually covers? This is the part people sleep on!! If you're walking a dog off-app or taking Venmo, you are probably walking with zero coverage unless you have your own pet-sitter insurance. I'm obsessed with this. Some buildings on the UES won't even let you pick up a dog unless you're named in the building's dog-walking log or you have your own liability policy! Not about HR, but if something happens to the dog or you in the elevator, that story reaches your office faster than any coworker sighting. Also, if you really want to stay under the radar, stop taking clients within five blocks of the office. Have you tried focusing on one neighborhood only?

Fair point on the insurance. I mostly use the app for payment and coverage, but a couple of regulars insisted on Venmo, which I didn't think about from the liability side. The handbook language is broad enough that I could see a strict manager making it annoying, but I doubt they'd fire me over a Labradoodle. Think I'll keep doing it, just not on 86th between 11 and 2, and no more app notifications on the work phone. The coworker definitely doesn't know it was paid—he just likes to bust chops.

Do NOT delete your profile! That honestly looks worse if someone from work saw it and then it vanishes—like you knew you were hiding something! And if you've already got reviews on the app, deleting it throws away your proof that you were legit. Instead, make your profile 'repeat clients only' or narrow the radius. For the cash clients, at least get a one-page intake form and vaccine check; it won't fix the no-moonlighting issue but it helps if anyone ever asks whether it's a real business. Have you tried walking in Carl Schurz Park instead of 86th? Fewer office people, better dogs, more shade!

Okay I checked my own handbook and it only says I can't work for a competitor or a client, which cat sitting obviously isn't. But I also Googled New York law and it seems like employers can't fire you just for lawful off-duty activity? Is that real? My friend in HR said 'just don't use the work laptop to book a cat,' which I definitely haven't done. Thanks to everyone in this thread, I feel a little less paranoid. I might keep the app profile but remove my face photo? Not sure if that's weird.

New York does have a law protecting lawful off-duty conduct, but don't push your luck—it's not a magic force field. If your side gig creates an actual conflict, interferes with your job, or uses company property, HR can still make it a problem. For a dog walk? Probably not. Keep it off LinkedIn, off Slack, and off any device with your work email. Also, to firstwinter: removing your face photo probably hurts bookings more than it helps. The app's whole trust model is that you don't look like a goblin. Just use a first name and keep the profile small.

Have you tried building the off-app roster through your building or the dog run instead of the app's open marketplace? I know people who quit the apps entirely and just take 4-5 regulars in their own building—no commute, no profile to get reported, no 'which HR manager saw you with a golden retriever' energy. But you MUST have walker insurance if you go off-app. I've seen people skip it and then one leash fumble turns into a huge building management complaint. Also, if you walk in the same neighborhood as your office, switch to early mornings or after 7; the office crowd is basically gone by then!

Thanks all. Decision: not telling HR uninvited, keeping the app active but narrowing my radius away from the office, and I'm going to look into a cheap walker policy for the two Venmo regulars. If anyone at work asks, it's 'helping a friend.' Which is technically true now, because I am helping myself to a second income. Appreciate the reality check.