Ghosting – Meaning of Ghosting and Its Relevance | HRMantra HR Software

Ghosting – Meaning of Ghosting and Its Relevance | HRMantra HR Software

 5-6 minutes 

Definition: What is Ghosting

Ghosting is when suddenly a person cuts off communication without any sort of prior notice or reason being given to the concerned person receiving the other end. Normally, the term would always be associated with modern forms of dating; however, it has also invaded professionalism.

In the context of the workplace, assuming that you have heard this term somewhere in your workplace, it literally means that employees or job applicants vanish without notifying their leaving to anyone working in the organization.

It can manifest in a number of ways, such as when an employee doesn''t come to work, doesn''t answer work calls or messages, or is missing for the interview when all preliminary discussions have taken place.

Types of Ghosting in the Workplace

• Candidate Ghosting: It means the candidate would fail to attend the interview without giving any prior notice or explanation.
• Post Offer Ghosting: It happens when a candidate is successfully recruited for the company. They would give an interview and pass the whole selection process. But then they would suddenly disappear without formally declining the offer.
• Employee Ghosting: This is when the candidate has formally accepted the offer, and then they don''t join the office; they simply vanish without formally informing anybody or declining it. It also includes silent resignations where an employee suddenly stops coming to work without any prior intimation to the company or even telling anyone, his employer or HR, about his intention to resign.
• Peer Ghosting: It can also be of two types; one is when a colleague becomes unresponsive and stops engaging in a team project. They leave their coworkers in the middle to figure out things on their own. Another one includes when a colleague ignores emails, messages, or all sorts of communication from their other team members or superiors. And then they continue to do it without any explanation.
• Vendor or Client Ghosting: Here, vendors, clients, or other business partners end all communication or cooperation with the company suddenly and without any prior notice. It may disrupt ongoing business relationships. This also includes independent contractors or even freelancers working for the company who seem to disappear into thin air. They may leave without completing the work agreed upon, affecting the ongoing projects.
• Managerial Ghosting: It''s about the lack of feedback and absentee management. For instance, how managers fail to provide regular feedback to their subordinates or evaluate their performance. This act would render the team at a blackout stage regarding their progress and development. The second one is about absentee management. When the manager constantly absents, ignores his employees'' concerns, or does not participate in the activities of the team, it makes the team disengage themselves and their other subordinates.

Understanding the Reasons for Ghosting

You can only deal with this problem of ghosting, whether this is on employee level or managerial level, when you truly understand the reasons behind it. So, let''s discuss them.

• Ghosting from employees could occur in case they get better offers or opportunities from other companies. Under such conditions, they may decide to leave their current role and join the other one.
• The other reason could be the work environment. If the work environment in your organization is hostile or unfavorable, then it might back reasons for employees to ghost their employers.
• It mostly happens when the individual is unable to discuss his or her concerns with anyone in the company, or that they''re irresponsive to such kind of discussions. Even lack of transparency can be a huge cause for ghosting.
• If the organization doesn''t bring clarity to its communication, the decision-making employees may consider ghosting as their last option to run away from awkward communications.
• It can also arise from personal problems. Sometimes the people working in an organization find it hard to communicate their intentions according to their personal problems. So instead of taking a stand and discussing their problems, they disappear from their work.

Ghosting at Workplace and How to Deal with It

Below are some of the strategies that HRs can try in regard to ghosting in the workplace.

• Encourage open and transparent communication amongst employees. Ensure that they clearly air their issues.
• Check-in with employees regularly to understand their concerns.
• Do exit interviews; this shall give more insights into the reasons as to why people are leaving your organization.
• Improve candidate experience at every step of the hiring process, regardless of the outcome. Keep them informed at every step and provide feedback in real-time.
• Documenting your policies and procedures, it shall elucidate how to deal with departing employees so that employees remain aware of what''s expected of them and what will be the consequences of their acts.

Final Thoughts

By knowing what ghosting is and being aware of how it can become a huge concern in the workplace for HR, you can take steps to prevent it as an HR and ensure you also do not do it to any person.

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