Workplace Ghosting: How The Dreaded Trend Went From Ruining Romance To Hurting Job Prospects

It¡¯s sad but unfortunately most of us are familiar with the phenomenon of 'ghosting.'

In the dating world, ghosting unfolds most commonly in the following way: for whatever reason a person cuts off all communication with the other person. There's no warning and no explanation. There's nothing. You might even see them liking pictures on Instagram or spot them online on Whatsapp while your text remains on read.

This dreaded trend has now moved beyond the sphere of romance and into the workplace. Side note: this is so annoying because for me work was a welcome distraction whenever there were issues in my love life. But no here we go.

Ghosting in the workplace is a sort of breakup between employees and employers.

Between employees and employers.

Work ghosting can take many forms: candidates failing to show up for interviews without a word; someone accepting the job offer then skipping the first day; or an employee leaving a job with zero notice instead of formally quitting, forget fulfilling a notice period.

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A video by TicToc, Bloomberg's news network on Twitter, explains that it might have something to do with the current nature of the job market.

The unemployment rate is at an 18-year low. This means that here are more open jobs than unemployed workers thereby giving people the courage to walk away. Another way of looking at it is that professionals who entered the workforce a decade ago, never encountered a job market this strong.

Today, chances are that young professionals may even encounter a situation they've never dealt with before: juggling multiple job offers, and not knowing exactly how to turn some down.

"Ghosting" has moved beyond the dating world and into the workplace #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/EPEjAtAFOh

¡ª TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) 24 July 2018

But wait. Ghosting in the workplace can go both ways, and candidates aren¡¯t the only guilty party.

What about times when employers don¡¯t contact an applicant after they've submitted an application? Or how they don¡¯t respond to polite follow-up emails or in some cases hold onto payments and blatantly ignore employees?

According to a survey from Career Builder, a whopping 75 per cent of job seekers say they didn¡¯t hear back from a job they had applied for, and the situation becomes especially frustrating the more time, energy, and free labour (sample essays, articles or assignments) one invests in the process.

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The collective opinion on social media seems to be that millennials aren't the first generation to ghost at the workplace, and probably won't be the last. So, it'll be unfair to label workplace ghosting as a millennial problem.

More importantly, people are fed up with the fact that employers can ghost candidates without consequences. Ghosting is likely going to stay in the workplace because of the very nature of our budding job market, and it seems like a big conversation about fairness and double standards needs to commence.

Thank you! At least some reporters had the decency to say there is no clear data behind this so-called trend. And the chief motivator they cite, a strong job market, is in no way unique to being a Millennial. Enough with the sadist Millennial fan fiction.

¡ª Jonathan Bryan (@jon_m_bryan) 24 July 2018

Between employees.

Probably the only good part about ghosting is that you never have to see whoever ghosted you again.

But.

What if you found someone at work who you thought was 100 per cent your best-friend only to be ghosted by them later.

Now imagine coming to work and seeing this person work, eat, laugh and breathe but still not having the decency to reply to your text that stands delivered or read for weeks now. In short: goodbye productivity.

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What should you do then?

Be the bigger person and try to resolve the issue with this person. Once you bring it up with them in person, they can¡¯t really ignore you. If reunion is not feasible for any of the parties involved, then let it go. Feel bad for a couple of days but move on because you have a career to focus on.

Ultimately, getting ghosted is never a pleasant experience whether it¡¯s by someone you¡¯re dating or by a recruiter. It¡¯s also not okay for you to treat your employer unfairly because there are a lot more options in the job market. While ghosting might not be illegal, it is most certainly disrespectful and it needs to stop.