Boss Who Got 'Ghosted' By Her Secretary Of 6 Years Does A Ridiculous Amount Of Detective Work To Find Her

Sounds like she had short timers syndrome.

Secretary walking away TikTok TikTok; Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
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Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard about the alarming trend of applicants and recruiters ghosting each other. But one thing that has not gotten the attention it deserves is the uptick in instances of employees up and leaving their job without letting their employers know.

One entrepreneur was shocked when an employee of six years suddenly stopped coming in and ceased all contact with her. The small business owner named Luisa shared the alarming incident on TikTok as well as the in-depth investigation that followed.

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Her secretary of six years ghosted her, causing her to fear the worst.

According to her, the secretary had submitted a two-week notice, so she was aware that the woman would be leaving the job. The employee was moving to another state to be near her relatives after working at Luisa’s business for the past six years.

Her fiancé had recently passed away and the woman wanted to move back home to be closer to her family since she had relocated to be near her in-laws in prior years. Once the boss received the heads up that her secretary was leaving, she started planning a way to thank her for her contributions in her final days.

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A few days into the after saying she would continue coming to work over the next couple of weeks, the employee stopped showing up and ceased all communication with Luisa. This not only made the TikToker curious but also worried about what had come of the missing woman.

At that point, Luisa told viewers, “I have anxiety, and I’m like really worried, like convinced that something is wrong.” She googled the woman’s name and found her social media accounts, but couldn’t tell if she was okay by looking at them.

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But she was able to find the secretary’s mother-in-law and her phone number. Luisa decided not to contact the woman’s in-law just yet but saved it in case she needed it later on.

She continued her search for information and recalled that she had once sent her secretary a package through Amazon, so she had her address. Armed with the location, she went to the woman’s house and began “pounding on the door” while calling and received no response.

Luisa also remembered that in previous conversations, her employee had said she resided directly across the street from her in-laws. She made a beeline over to the house to inquire about the well-being of the mislocated worker.

She was able to connect with the woman’s father-in-law who advised that she was perfectly okay and that he would ask her to give her boss a call when he spoke with her. Luisa was left feeling as if she had cared too much about the situation for her own good.

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The video left viewers confused about why an employee who had been at the company so long would ghost her boss.

Luisa uploaded a second video to answer some of the burning questions people had about the situation, first explaining that her office is small, with just four people working in it.

She said that because of its size, the company didn’t have a Human Resources department and she had neglected to collect any emergency contact information from the employee upon hire.

   

   

“I’m not going to say we were friends or anything like that, but I mean… I cared. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her,” Luisa said when explaining what type of relationship she and the secretary had developed over years of working together.

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The woman did confide in her boss about her personal life and has done so when her fiancé passed away a few months before she advised she was leaving the company. Luisa had done all she could to support the grieving woman.

Naturally, issues that Luisa correctly chose not to disclose started to arise after the loss, but it was chalked up to “grieving” and the business extended grace to the woman during the time of mourning.

The things that were most worrisome were the fact that all of her belongings in her desk and kept a set of keys to the office. Luisa found it hard to believe she would just walk away like that and got concerned for her. To this day, she has not heard from the woman.

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When it comes to employees ghosting their employers, there are many reasons why it might happen. Some feel mistreated, and think they owe the company nothing, while others are embarrassed, afraid of the reaction, or simply don’t care.

But this isn’t the typical “ghosting” in the workplace that is discussed. This is more a case of short-timers’ syndrome, where employees give notice and then effectively check out. They are no longer committed to the company so their productivity and attendance may suffer.

Because of this, many companies opt to let employees go immediately upon receiving notice, believing the two weeks of pay in lieu of notice that they provide for no work is worth their peace of mind. That way, they protect their systems, rid themselves of any expectations of the departing worker, and move forward faster.

Yet, six years is a significant time investment to ghost an employer. Perhaps the death of her partner and the impact on the former secretary’s life had something to do with it. Or maybe the "boss" wasn’t as close to her employee as she thought she was.

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NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.