Business Monday: Employers need to learn how to “bust” ghostworking – Mary T. O’Sullivan

“Ghostworking: 92% of employees job search on company time” – Forbes

By Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL, contributing writer, business and leadership

Business buzzwords proliferate when employees feel the impact of work stress, being undervalued, and living in unhealthy work cultures. Words like “presenteeism, ghosting, quiet quitting, quiet firing, and burnout” (among others) have appeared more frequently in business literature in the last several years. The invention of such language can only signal what pollsters have reported for at least a decade; that employee disengagement continues to rise along with work dissatisfaction. And disengagement leads to spurning actual work for hours, but showing up anyway. However, studies have found some interesting activities that employees do with that time, instead of doing actual work, and now there is new “fashionable” jargon as a result.

Among the dozens of business buzzwords created in the last decade,  a new “cool” term has emerged – “ghostworking”.  As defined in Forbes, “ghostworking” means appearing to be working, but actually doing anything but, including  actively applying for another job. “With burnout, career uncertainty and remote work blurring boundaries, employees are increasingly exploring new opportunities during the workday,” reports Resume Now, an online resume platform. Employees still show up for work, and they may in fact be “quiet quitting”, however,  they manage to stay under the radar. It’s amazing how imaginative people can be when “working” to avoid work. The Resume Now study unearthed a striking statistic, that at least 58% of the 1100 employees surveyed admit they pretend to be working. They report that “From fake meetings to typing nonsense, employees are getting creative to maintain the illusion of productivity.”

While some slackers may pretend “busy-ness”, a remarkable 24% of the people surveyed admitted to using company time to redo their resumes, and 23% take the time to openly apply to new positions (using their work computers), while 20% are not afraid to speak to recruiters using their office phones. Furthermore, when the boss pays little or no attention, it’s not uncommon for employees to leave during work hours to interview with other companies; 19% admitted to doing just that. Who would know the difference between a vacant cubicle due to an emergency dental appointment or a job interview?

Since the pandemic, “Ghostworking” may in fact, be a response to employers “quiet maneuvering”, quietly cutting positions, and installing tracking software on computers to account for every keystroke.  Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now, sees “ghostworking” as a symptom of managers’ poor communication style and frankly, too much pressure to be productive which leads directly to employee burnout.

Among employers, then the conundrum is, how to figure out who is truly slacking, who is dispirited due to a work disappointment, and who are the truly “A” players who are just doing too much and approaching total burnout. According to Forbes, the best path for employers is to continue to check in with people regularly. Frequent personal meetings, skip level luncheons, or one on one conversations are a few examples of how to keep people engaged. Be open and honest about expectations while allowing employees to speak their minds. (Needless to say, managers need to stay off their devices during these encounters.)  Initiate common corporate appreciation awards of any denomination, even a $5.00 Dunkin card goes a long way. Send handwritten thank you notes when people go above and beyond. Engender company loyalty with true career development opportunities. Offer to pay tuition reimbursement. Make people feel as if the company really cares about their future.

When employers actively show their employees appreciation, a sense of trust on both sides emerges. Kill the micromanagement and pay more attention to people, and “ghostworking” loses its oxygen. Whatever expense in time or money is invested, will be paid back with loyal, hardworking employees that are dedicated to their work eight hours a day. That’s how employers can become effective “Ghost Busters”.

“When employers micromanage employees, ghostworking is a natural consequence, and when management is aware of “ghostworkers”, supervision is the result. Both reactions are productivity killers that fuel the cycle.” – Forbes

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Mary T. O’Sullivan, Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, Society of Human Resource Management, “Senior Certified Professional. Graduate Certificate in Executive and Professional Career Coaching, University of Texas at Dallas.

Member, Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor Society.

Advanced Studies in Education from Montclair University, SUNY Oswego and Syracuse University.

Mary is also a certified Six Sigma Specialist, Contract Specialist, IPT Leader and holds a Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management from SHRM.

 

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