Are Gen-Z Ditching Their Employers Like Bad Dates: Career Catfishing Explained

Gen Z has entered the workforce with significantly different behaviors, perspectives, and expectations than previous generations. They are making headlines for a series of Gen Z workplace trends in 2025, from “bare minimum Mondays” to “quiet quitting 2.0.". One modern workplace phenomenon that draws the most attention is “career catfishing," where job seekers accept job offers but “ghost” their employers, failing to show up or communicate. 

Job ghosting has become common today, giving rise to a new hiring challenge in 2025. Candidates often exaggerate their skills and qualifications or lie about their identities to land job roles. Employers, too, engage in similar deceptive practices, painting a misleading picture of a job role to lure potential candidates. The result is a "shift shock" for these young professionals when they show up on their first day.

This article examines these Gen Z job market trends in 2025 and uncovers strategies for reducing career catfishing and job ghosting practices. 

The Career Catfishing and Job Ghosting Culture

Disruptive practices like career catfishing and job ghosting perpetuate distrust in employer-employee relationships; however, these no-show trends cannot be attributed to a specific generation or group, nor are they one-sided.

Job seekers often experience unanswered calls, emails, or radio silence from employers. This might be a possible reason why Gen Z professionals believe that ghosting employers is acceptable. Job ghosting can be seen as a way employees seek to retaliate against the tedious job applications, lengthy hiring processes, and unresponsive hiring managers they face while looking for employment opportunities. 

However, that's not the only reason employers are seeing an upward trend of career catfishing among Gen Z. Workplace culture shifts, power dynamics, and misrepresentation in job roles are other reasons driving career catfishing.

What Drives Career Catfishing in the Gen Z Job Market?

Here are some potential reasons that motivate ghosting behaviors in employees:

1. Lack of workplace transparency: Companies may be dishonest about their financial packages or work culture. 

2. Multiple job offers and better benefits: Candidates with numerous job offers might be free to ghost employers for better benefits elsewhere.

3. Workplace power dynamics: Career catfishing may be an attempt to assert control over existing power structures.

4. A generational shift in workplace expectations: For Gen Z, prioritizing flexibility, mental well-being, and work-life balance takes precedence. This mindset may drive them to push back against traditional corporate expectations when their needs are unmet. 

5. Work flexibility: The rise of remote work and Gen Zers’ preference for it may be another factor pushing candidates to ghost in favor of companies that offer remote positions over those that rely on hybrid or in-office work models.

While career catfishing might get Gen Z the favorable outcomes they seek, it disrupts a company's hiring plans and adds stress to recruiters and managers. It can also result in missed opportunities for other quality job applicants.

What Might Reduce Career Catfishing?

Here are some steps HR managers and leadership can take to prevent career catfishing potentially:

• Ensuring transparent and authentic communication is one way to prevent job ghosting. Employers should be honest about workplace practices, culture, and company values to manage Gen Z employees’ expectations.

• Restructuring corporate hiring processes to have fewer rounds and shorter durations may prevent employees from dropping out midway through the interview process or after receiving a job offer.

• Companies should consider making job offers more attractive by offering competitive salaries and better benefits. From the outset, transparency about pay and perks can build trust in employer-employee relationships. This might make employees less likely to pull a vanishing act on employers.

• Building an employer brand that values workplace transparency, mental well-being, and, most importantly, a sense of purpose can help attract and retain Gen Z job seekers. 

• Finally, employers should take responsibility and strive to end employer-driven ghosting.

Beyond this, employers can implement proactive strategies to alleviate career catfishing. They can maintain a record of candidates who indulge in ghosting behaviors to avoid getting blindsided by recurring instances in the future.

Conclusion

Career catfishing has become an all-too-familiar practice in the corporate workplace in 2025. 

Given the growing instances of deceptive behaviors in the workplace, HR managers and organizational leaders need to gain a deeper understanding of the issue. Getting insights on the social and psychological factors that give rise to the career catfishing and job ghosting, especially among young professionals helps to address these issues. 

Also Read: Who Are Passive Candidates & How Can You Recruit Them?