I guess it’s like the classic headless bug:
http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/males-with-outfits-losing-their-heads-all-affected-mostly-footmen/11898
or maybe like the ghostly hearthlings seen in
http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/really-slow-after-digging-river-ghost-worker-i-hate-ghost-i-like-ghostbusters/19902