Thanks so much for the advice! I was really hoping to find out how common this type of arrangement was and if people were comfortable working under it. The posts I've seen have mostly focused on the legal aspects of it.
I've always believed that dialog is better than confrontation, and that reaching an agreement is better than fighting a corner. If you and your manager can agree common principles, then you should be able to get a decent working arrangement.
But you need to get the statement of principle in writing, so your manager can't get screwed by those above.
If you can't get that agreement even in principle, do you really want to be working there? Maybe you don't ahve a choice, maybe any job is better than no job, but if they don't trust you to do your work, and keep side-projects on the side, should you really trust them at all?
These are the questions I'd have.
Good luck. Maybe you could let us know how you get on. If you blog, write a post about it and point us to it.
But you need to get the statement of principle in writing, so your manager can't get screwed by those above.
If you can't get that agreement even in principle, do you really want to be working there? Maybe you don't ahve a choice, maybe any job is better than no job, but if they don't trust you to do your work, and keep side-projects on the side, should you really trust them at all?
These are the questions I'd have.
Good luck. Maybe you could let us know how you get on. If you blog, write a post about it and point us to it.