In remote and hybrid work environments, ghosting—sudden communication drop-offs—and catfishing—misrepresenting identities or capabilities—are eroding trust and disrupting team dynamics, with 97% of employees concealing aspects of themselves at work, leading to 54% higher stress and 43% lower productivity per the 2025 Hu-X and HiBob Covering Study.
This HR Spotlight article compiles insights from business leaders and HR professionals on these challenges.
Experts highlight how these behaviors foster anxiety, hinder collaboration, and create operational vulnerabilities, akin to uncovered risks in insurance.
They recommend clear expectations, regular check-ins, and psychological safety to rebuild authenticity, ensuring hybrid teams thrive through transparent, supportive cultures that prioritize genuine connections over polished personas.
Read on!
Ghosting and catfishing are no longer limited to dating apps. They are appearing in hybrid workplaces when employees suddenly withdraw from communication or misrepresent their workload or availability.
Our Hu-X and HiBob Covering Study found that 97 percent of employees conceal aspects of themselves at work. Those who cover most intensely are 54 percent more likely to experience stress and 43 percent report lower productivity.
Over time, this quiet disengagement chips away at trust and slows collaboration, leaving teams to operate with incomplete information.
To prevent this, HR leaders can set clear expectations for availability, encourage regular check-ins, and reinforce that honesty, not constant perfection, is the expectation. Hybrid teams thrive when employees feel safe to show up as themselves.
Ghosting Erodes Trust, Stresses Teams
Patti Yencho
Principal Agent, Piains Agency
Ghosting and catfishing shatter the foundation of trust essential for any professional relationship, especially in remote settings. My experience in insurance teaches that uncertainty and hidden “exposures” prevent effective risk management within teams.
These behaviors create significant operational vulnerabilities, akin to “uncovered risks” that hinder proactive planning. When team members cannot rely on clear communication, building comprehensive “big picture” strategies becomes impossible, impacting overall team dynamics.
Just as transparent communication helps secure optimal insurance coverage, consistent and honest engagement is vital for team stability.
Lack of trust makes collaborative “partnerships” impossible, leading to unseen “claims” on productivity and morale. Our “whole life or risk” approach emphasizes anticipating challenges, and these behaviors represent the ultimate unanticipated, yet preventable, risks to team cohesion and success.
Hidden Risks Disrupt Team Stability
Clytie Robinette
Head of Marketing, A New Therapyutah
Ghosting and catfishing severely erode the psychological safety crucial for effective team dynamics, especially in remote or hybrid settings.
When communication is absent or identity is deceptive, it breeds mistrust and anxiety among colleagues. This lack of transparency directly conflicts with our commitment to compassionate, personalized care.
Such behaviors hinder open collaboration, causing stress and uncertainty that impact overall team cohesion and individual well-being.
A reliable, authentic environment is paramount for productivity and fostering the positive mental state necessary for any team to thrive.
Catfishing Undermines Psychological Safety
Joe Szynkowski
Founder, The UpWrite Group
People are getting bolder behind screens. I saw a remote employee recently trashing her boss while she thought she was muted. It broke trust instantly.
These kinds of slip-ups, plus things like ignoring messages or faking roles on LinkedIn, are becoming more common in remote work. And it’s messing with team dynamics.
When someone disappears or isn’t who they say they are, it creates tension that’s hard to fix over Zoom. Relationships in this kind of setup take effort, and we’re seeing what happens when people stop trying.
Screen Anonymity Fuels Workplace Mistrust
Jodi Blodgett
Professional Photographer & Visual Storyteller, Jodi Blodgett Photography
As a photographer who’s worked with hundreds of families and couples over the past decade, I’ve noticed similar trust-breaking behaviors creeping into professional settings. When team members suddenly go radio silent or misrepresent their availability/skills, it creates the same emotional disconnect I see when clients ghost during wedding planning.
In my photography business, I’ve seen remote collaborations fall apart when vendors “catfish” their capabilities—claiming expertise they don’t have or using heavily filtered portfolio work. One wedding coordinator I worked with in 2023 completely misrepresented their experience level, leaving three couples scrambling weeks before their big day.
The photography industry taught me that authentic relationship-building requires consistent, honest communication. When I shifted from generic client interactions to genuine personal connections—sharing my own family stories and being transparent about my process—my referral rate jumped 40% in Massachusetts alone.
My advice: treat professional relationships like portrait sessions. The magic happens when people feel safe to be authentic, not when they’re performing a character.
Misrepresentation Disrupts Remote Collaboration
Audrey Schoen
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Audreylmft
From my work with remote teams at law enforcement agencies and tech companies, I’ve seen how ghosting colleagues creates ripple effects beyond just missed deadlines. When someone suddenly stops responding to messages or skips meetings without explanation, it triggers abandonment patterns similar to what I address in couples therapy – teams start questioning trust and assuming worst-case scenarios.
The most damaging case I encountered involved a project manager who gradually reduced communication over two weeks before disappearing entirely. Their team members developed anxiety about their own job security and started over-communicating to prove their value, creating a toxic cycle of hypervigilance.
Catfishing in professional contexts – like misrepresenting skills or experience during remote hiring – destroys psychological safety once funded. I worked with a startup where a “senior developer” turned out to have fabricated their entire background, causing the remaining team to question everyone’s credentials and become defensive about their own expertise.
Triggers Team Anxiety Cycles
Jamilyn Trainor
Owner & SPM, Mullerexpo
As it relates to remote and hybrid work, ghosting and cat-fishing are no longer just “dating” issues, they are very real workplace issues. I have personally experienced hiring people for freelance work only for those individuals to ghost me, disappearing without notice in the middle of the project timeline.
Suddenly my colleagues and I are in a panic trying to finish the project because we are beyond the point of no return. Ghosting erodes trust quickly, especially when there is trust to begin with, and digital communications do not help that; on the contrary, we lose opportunities for interpersonal growth that can build team trust.
Cat-fishing can take the form of an inflated resume, AI-generated portfolio, or candidates misrepresenting their role on past projects. There is friction built when we have to work through another company, like Müller Expo, if those individuals either ghost you or cat-fish you since we are tasked with getting the project created and completed.
Even more disruption comes in when we have to figure out whether to further vet other candidates or have back-up plans. It is certainly frustrating but equally so disruptive.
Professional accountability is much harder to uphold at a distance, therefore it is teams who do not place reasonable expectations, communications, and check-ins in place that get hurt most.
Ghosting, Catfishing Disrupt Remote Trust
Ghosting can look like candidates disappearing mid-process, new hires no-showing on Day 1, or even team members going silent when stakes are high. It erodes trust quickly and leaves leaders scrambling to fill gaps or make decisions with incomplete information.
Catfishing can look like inflated resumes, misrepresented skills, or showing up as one version of yourself in interviews and another entirely on the job. In a remote context, it’s easier to curate a polished persona and harder to build the kind of relationship where red flags are caught early.
These behaviors disrupt workflows, delay progress, and chip away at psychological safety. People begin to second-guess each other’s intentions and reliability.
Over time, disengagement and resentment increase. When expectations are clear, communication is consistent, and trust is built from day one, people are more accountable and red flags are easier to spot. It helps teams navigate uncertainty, call out misalignment, and move forward without losing momentum.
Clear Expectations Prevent Ghosting Issues
Jeff Romero
Founder, Octiv Digital
Ghosting and catfishing can significantly impact team dynamics in ways we may not always realize. I believe that ghosting fosters uncertainty, causing team members to feel neglected or unsure about their positions and contributions. It can damage trust and result in lowered morale.
When a person vanishes unexpectedly, it causes others to rush to find a replacement or to doubt their connections. Conversely, catfishing can significantly hinder teamwork. If team members are not who they say they are, it may result in deception and uncertainty.
I think this leads to a deficiency in genuineness, making it difficult to form any true connections or common objectives. Thus, in either scenario, the effect can ripple through the team, influencing communication, trust, and ultimately, performance.
It’s essential to tackle these problems directly to preserve a positive team atmosphere.
Deceptions Harm Remote Team Cohesion
The HR Spotlight team thanks these industry leaders for offering their expertise and experience and sharing these insights.
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