In an era where job applications are increasingly digital and hiring processes are streamlined, a new phenomenon has emerged among younger people—job ghosting.

A viral post on X, formerly Twitter, has sparked conversation after user Aidila Razak questioned why Gen Z considers it “normal” to ghost potential employers.

“I need a Gen Z person to explain to me why it is ‘normal’ to ghost a potential employer,” Razak recently wrote. “Coz ppl keep telling me ‘normal lah Gen Z’ but I don’t understand how it is normal for a generation to not have basic courtesy.”

Razak’s post quickly went viral with over 655,000 views and sparked conversation.

A new report from Number Barn highlighted that roughly 41 percent of Gen Z job seekers admitted to ghosting a potential employer, with millennials not far behind at 37 percent. This trend is particularly widespread in major metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., Tampa, Florida, and San Francisco, according to the survey.

Gen Z is set to shape the workforce as they make up an increasingly larger portion of job seekers by 2030. The shift is already being felt as they push for greater work-life balance, with some even actively turning down promotions.

Gen Z Reacts

Before long, people from Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, started to respond on X, sharing their thoughts on Razak’s post. Some suggested that job ghosting is not necessarily malicious but rather a result of job application burnout.

X user @dumborx commented: “Could be they read it and forgot to reply? Ngl [not gonna lie] apply[ing for] job[s] can be exhausting, people could be sending out and applying 50-70 jobs per day, filling redundant forms and sometimes receiving an email could be overlooked during moments of burnout?”

User @drinkderiver added: “I don’t know how normal it is, but I think part of it is probably that gen-z is overwhelmed by the jobseeking process. When even post-interview, we are told there’s another ‘stage’ of the process, I think a lot get disheartened. 3-4 interviews for an entry level job is a lot.”

Some were blunter about their views.

User @tolerateit2002 wrote: “Gen Z here. I mean it bluntly when I say we have no consideration. From the perspective of an individual with self-interest, we couldn’t care less about how we treat you if we’ve decided we aren’t gonna work for you. Everything is transactional to us which is why we quiet quit.”

Others suggested that ghosting potential employers was part of a broader cultural shift in how Gen Z handles communication and relationships.

X user @joeljeshurun_ wrote: “This is how our generation approaches relationships as well. Ghosting and gaslighting have all the more been normalized. We don’t like confrontation, and we don’t deal with problems head-on. Instead, [we] run away from them.”

As younger workers seek more flexibility and work-life balance compared to previous generations, it seems their expectations around job applications and hiring differ too.

Some Gen Z job seekers justified their behavior on X by pointing out that employers have long ghosted applicants, failing to provide updates on applications or interview results.

“Employers often don’t tell us the outcome of our interview/application so we also don’t need to directly tell employers our decision,” one Gen Zer wrote.

‘It Is Incredibly Common for Gen Z Candidates to Ghost Potential Employers’

Recruiters and hiring professionals are feeling the effects of this shift. Matt Collingwood, managing director of VIQU IT recruitment, confirmed that Gen Z candidates frequently ghost potential employers.

“It is incredibly common for Gen Z candidates to ghost potential employers. In my experience, many throughout the recruitment process are eager and engaged, some even confirm the morning of an interview that they are ready to attend, and yet fail to show up hours later,” he told Newsweek.

Career coach and reverse recruiter Steven Lowell shared similar concerns.

“On a job posting I was hiring for, out of 300 applicants, 20 were actually qualified, but only 8 responded to a request for an interview. Out of those 8, only 5 read the job description, which was discovered when they asked, ‘How much does this pay?’ missing the fact it was already in the job description,” he told Newsweek.