Staying Fit
Is the practice of giving two-weeks' notice before leaving a job history? In a recent report about employment trends, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago revealed that several businesses in its region said “that they had been ‘ghosted,’ a situation in which an employee stops coming to work without notice and then is impossible to contact.”
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The report is evidence of a phenomenon some recruiting and employment experts also have started to notice. Ghosting, as the practice is called, so far appears to be limited to younger workers, with the possible exception of older workers in high-demand sales jobs. But the difference in attitudes about acceptable ways to leave a job could be a positive for older workers, who know that fewer burned bridges might lead to more career opportunities down the road.
“I have not seen a whole lot of ghosting with the older crowd,” says Jeff Lipschultz, founder of staffing and recruiting firm A-List Solutions. “They’re a bit more traditional and view their career as a journey and not individual work experiences.”
One exception for older workers: “I’ve seen ghosting with sales candidates during the recruiting process. They tend to be overloaded with opportunities and don’t stay on top of the details all the time like getting back to recruiters they’ve already spoken to,” Lipschultz says.
Indeed, the abundance of opportunities created by the low-unemployment rate is one reason why some younger employees are quitting without giving notice. According to that Federal Reserve Bank report, many employers have “been constrained … by an inability to attract and retain qualified workers.” That means that some companies are making job offers that candidates find too good to delay.
“It’s an employee’s market,” says Donna Ballman, an employment lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Another theory: Younger workers, who have mastered the ghosting technique from dating apps, don’t blink an eye at cutting a tie without explanation, and don’t look back.
“I think this phenomenon will grow,” Lipschultz says. “Many younger workers view work as a contract or temporary thing; moving on is ‘no big deal’ and doesn’t require linking one job to the next.”
