Ghosting is no longer reserved for romantic partners you'd rather avoid. New research shows the majority of young workers have no problem treating prospective employers like a bad date.
According to Indeed survey results published by Fortune, two-thirds of workers have "ghosted" a prospective employer in the past year by suddenly ignoring them without explanation.
Younger workers in particular have commitment issues, with over three-quarters (79%) of Gen Z (ages 18 to 24) and Millennials (ages 25 to 44) admitting to ghosting potential employers.
And Gen Z takes it to a different level -- 93% admit to not showing up for job interviews they agreed to attend and another 87% say they accepted a job but never showed up on their first workday, per Fortune.
The survey shows Gen Z doesn't have a problem leaving a boss stranded, with more than half (54%) planning to do it again in the future. The two top reasons for why Gen Z ghosts are because it makes them "feel in charge of their career" (18%) and because of negative company reviews (14%).
By comparison, Millennials who have ghosted an employer said they did it because it was easier than directly rejecting a job offer (24%), but they felt anxious (32%) and worried how it could affect opportunities in the future (64%).
Across all age groups, the survey shows more than half of workers (55%) say its acceptable to ghost an employers because employers ghost job seekers. Another 20% of workers say businesses have failed to show up for a phone interview and 23% said the employer made a verbal offer with no follow through.
"It's clear that ghosting has become an unwelcome phenomenon for employers, and is having an impact on the time, productivity and wellbeing of hiring teams," Danny Stacy, Indeed's UK head of talent intelligence, said in a statement. "Workers point to being ghosted by employers as a reason to be able to do the same, so businesses have a clear directive to keep up communication on their end during the hiring process, even if it's to let a candidate know they haven't been successful for the role."