Workplace Ghosting

Ghosting, ah don’t worry, nothing spooky here unless it is. Ghosting, the term has derived from the online dating world, is more of slang and less of a term. 

Ghosting means disappearing from someplace or someone’s life without any message, call or informing the other person. In other words, you were there till yesterday and from today you are not and that too without notifying the person intentionally.

I know it feels bad and it is something no one should do to anyone. But the sad part is that there are a lot of people who do this. 

Now that you are aware of the meaning of the term Ghosting, Let us now come to today’s topic.

Ghosting is no longer restricted to personal lives. It has made its place in the professional world too. And as much as it is bad in personal lives, it does more harm in the professional field.

What is Workplace Ghosting?

As a hiring manager, have you ever faced a situation where candidates, applicants, or even existing employees, said that they would see you the next day or on the joining date, but they have never shown up on that day and you have never been able to reach out to them since that day?

If yes, you/your company were ghosted by them. This is called Workplace Ghosting.

Why do they do that?

There could be many reasons for them to take such a step. If it is an applicant, maybe they have got a better opportunity or they are practising being interviewed. That sounds odd, but yes, there are people who have already been selected by other companies or even have jobs in hand, but just to challenge them or in their search for better opportunities, they sit in many interviews. 

If they like your company and it is beneficial for them in all ways, they will join, or else they will not even show up at all.

When your existing employees ghost you, there can be many reasons, and you also might be aware of some of the reasons in this case. They might have shown their disappointment or something they are not happy with. Maybe they did not get an appraisal or have made a mistake at work or your work environment is just bad that they woke up one day and did not feel like coming.

But wait, do you think that only companies get ghosted? If yes, then you are wrong about it. Who do you think has started this ghosting trend? Recruiters, companies, organizations! It all started with them.

In previous decades, the power was in recruiters’ hands instead of the recruits. And they, too, were not very fair in utilizing the powers. Keeping employees on hold, never getting back to them, never sharing their feedback on why a candidate was rejected were very common practices conducted in many organizations. 

And now that power has shifted to employees’ hands, They too are not utilizing it appropriately.

The consequences of workplace ghosting were never so hard, even when employers did it or when employees were doing it. This is the reason you are able to see a rise in this trend. However, this pandemic period might have halted this growing trend, but it can soon be restarted when situations get better.

But having said that, one cannot justify wrongdoing. Workplace ghosting is an unethical practice and it is wrong on so many levels. Work gets hampered, people get overworked, strategies gets postponed, expansion is delayed.

What can you do as a recruiter?

Well, you do not need to take any extraordinary steps to be exempted from this trend. Make your work environment a space where people want to come, learn and earn. Work towards the betterment of your employees, motivate them, check upon them, have frequent feedback taking or sharing sessions. 

Let them open up and share their thoughts. Provide market-standard remuneration with perks you can afford. Impose some strong consequences for workplace ghosting. Just make sure you are good and ethical on your part. The rest will take place automatically.

Do not let the ethics down!

This is for people who ghost companies without informing. You too are aware that this is not fair, then why do you need to end things on a bad note? Have the strength to have that awkward conversation with your manager that you wish to leave. Inform them at least 2 weeks ago. Give them the time they need to find your replacement. 

Try your best to not let work be hampered by all these. If you keep burning bridges, how will you come back when things start to get worse?

Be ethical, have values, leave by serving a notice period, leave respectfully. You deserve a farewell cake.

Thank you for investing your time in today’s topic. If you think this article can be helpful for someone. Be thoughtful and share with them.

See you in the next article.