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“Ghosting” is not just a dating phenomenon, but is also becoming increasingly common in the workplace. And this unreliable behavior risks reputational damage for employers and job seekers, career experts say.
The concept of ghosting—the sudden and unexpected interruption of communication with someone (i.e., disappearance)—emerged around the mid-2010s, as social media and dating apps gained traction. Merriam-Webster added this new-age definition of “ghost” to the dictionary in 2017.
This practice has become common among both applicants and employers during the hiring process.
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About 78% of job seekers said they had ghosted a potential employer. This comes from a December report from job website Indeed, based on a survey conducted in spring 2023. That’s an increase from last year, when 68% said they had left during the hiring process at some point during their career.
About 62% of job seekers said they plan to ghost in future job searches, up from 56% in 2022 and 37% in 2019, Indeed found.
But it’s not just applicants who are disappearing: 40% of job seekers said an employer ghosted them after a second or third round interview, up from 30% in 2022.
The data suggests that ghosting is “still on the rise” and is not a “passing fad,” the Indeed report said.
Why job ghosting is becoming more and more common
It’s not like ghosting is a new phenomenon. There have always been job seekers and employers who have demonstrated poor communication when hiring employees, said Jill Eubank, senior vice president of business professionals at Randstad, a recruiting firm.
Their spread in recent years is likely due to a hot job market moving in and out of the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.
Demand for labor surged in early 2021 as the U.S. economy emerged from its pandemic-induced slump. The unemployment rate has remained near historic lows for about two years, and layoffs have been occurring for nearly three years. The number of job vacancies – an indicator of companies’ labor needs – reached historic highs in the pandemic era; This also applies to layoffs, a barometer of workers’ ability or willingness to find work elsewhere.
Although the job market has gradually cooled, it is still strong, Eubank said.
Job applicants likely felt they had a lot of choice and a high probability of success, and ghosting increased as a result, she said.
“They feel like they have options: ‘I don’t have to communicate because I can just go here.’ [for a job]“Or I have this other opportunity,” Eubank said.
Why ghosting has become a feedback loop
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According to a 2023 survey by the Thriving Center of Psychology, about one in six Millennial and Generation Z workers have ignored a potential employer during the interview, primarily because they no longer wanted the job, got another job offer, or had a bad experience had done in the interview , a mental health platform.
According to a 2019 Randstad survey, two-thirds – 66% – of employees have “ghosted” employers by accepting a job offer and then withdrawing it or disappearing before their start date.
As a coach, I would never recommend that a job seeker apply as an employer.
Clint Carrens
Career Strategist at Indeed
Additionally, according to the Thriving Center of Psychology, 35% of employees reported being harassed by employers during job interviews.
The problem has turned into a feedback loop, said Clint Carrens, career strategist at Indeed’s Job Search Academy.
“There are job seekers who feel that employers are making increasingly poor use of their ghost images,” Carrens said. “Many assume that if employers view this as normal etiquette, they will also engage in this behavior. It’s almost a circular problem.”
However, according to experts, ghosting poses risks for both parties in the form of possible reputational damage.
“As a coach, I would never recommend that a job seeker deceive an employer,” Carrens said.
Those who do this could be “cautioned” by the employer and, for example, lose access to a future employment opportunity, he said.
Employers may feel that ghosting gives them a short-term win by reducing time during the hiring process, but it also hurts their brands in the long run, especially when job seekers talk about their negative experiences online, Carrens added.
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2024-02-29 16:00:19
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