Ghosting: What if Your Employee is Just Not That Into You?
As someone who was part of the Toronto dating scene until her mid-30s, I can tell you about ghosting, but it was not until last month that I recognized that the phenomenon had spread to other social scenarios, including employment.
What is Ghosting?
According to Merriam-Webster, ghosting is the “phenomenon of leaving a relationship of some kind by abruptly ending all contact with the other person, and especially electronic contact, like texts, emails, and chats.” This formal definition is surprisingly close to that from Urban Dictionary, which is rare. Urban Dictionary provides additional context about ghosting:
[It] is not specific to a certain gender and is closely related to the subject’s maturity and communication skills. Many attempt to justify ghosting as a way to cease dating the ghostee without hurting their feelings, but it in fact proves the subject is thinking more of themselves, as ghosting often creates more confusion for the ghostee than if the subject kindly stated how he/she feels.
How Does Ghosting Occur at Work?
In a Washington Post article published before the holidays, journalist Danielle Paquette describes how the low unemployment rate in the US has led to an increasing number of employees leaving their jobs with less than two weeks’ notice. Even worse, some employees are not providing any notice. Rather, they are ghosting their employers by simply not coming to work and not responding to follow-ups.
What Can Employers do to Prevent and Address Ghosting?
When it’s a sellers’ market, buyers can have a tough time dictating the ground rules. There are a few steps that buyers/employers can take to prevent (read: sign a contract) and address ghosting:
Sign a pre-nup: If employers are concerned about the impact of receiving short-notice from their employees, they should stipulate the appropriate length of resignation periods in written employment contracts. Contrary to popular belief, there is no legal minimum notice that Ontario employees must provide outside of (a) a signed employment contract or (b) certain working notice period situations. Absent a reasonable and written minimum notice obligation, employers cannot take action against employees who ghost.[i]
Be careful what you wish for: Some of our clients ask us to insert 8-week or 6-month resignation notice periods into employment contracts. I always ask them: “what will you do if you’ve got a lame duck sitting around for that whole time? What value will they provide?” Employers should only use a long resignation notice period for key employees with whom they cannot function. The length of the period will depend on the employee’s responsibilities, the employer’s ability to absorb those functions and the time it will take to find a replacement.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Anecdotally, employees who see their employers walk resigning employees out or, worse, who badmouth those resigning employees are less inclined to show loyalty and provide appropriate notice when they resign. If employers want respect from employees on the way out, there must be reciprocity.
Nothing lasts forever: Employers must recognize that the days of the “company man” are behind us. It is rare for an employee to stick with one employer for their entire career. Effective organizations have contingency plans in place to retain good employees and address sudden departures. In simpler terms, what is your hit by a bus plan?
Ask for a second chance: If an employer is caught flat-footed by a resignation, they can always ask the employee to stick around and tie it to new consideration – e.g. “if you’ll continue to work and close out this deal by month-end, we’ll pay you a commission/release you from the obligation to re-pay your tuition allowance/etc.” or “if you stay indefinitely, we’ll give you a raise.” However, if the employee has truly ghosted the employer, one must wonder if there is enough trust to even make that offer.
Whether it’s in the dating pool or the workplace, ghosting is not cool, but it’s a modern reality for which we can prepare (beyond just having a tub of ice cream and box of tissue handy).
[i] Even then, employers must show that the quick departure causes damages in order to get a monetary judgment.
