‘Is it time for coffee badging again?

Every new year, corporations in the U.S. typically require their staff to resume working at the office after remote work was introduced at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

This shift also marks a period when employees attempt to circumvent these requirements.

What is coffee badging?

Many employees are participating in what is known as “coffee badging.” This involves them swiping their ID badges to register their presence in the office, then staying for about 30 minutes—just enough time to say hello to colleagues and enjoy a coffee—before returning home.

For those who do not need to use a badge, simply appearing briefly, exchanging greetings with coworkers, visiting a neighboring cubicle, or chatting loudly in the hallway before “quietly vanishing” can achieve the same effect, according to Christopher Nickson, vice president of Segal Group, a human resources consulting firm.

In a new variation of this practice, some employees go a step further and have a colleague swipe in for them, Nickson noted.

Coffee badging has been gaining traction since office return mandates were introduced a few years back, and its prevalence is increasing as more companies implement these policies, according to Nickson and other HR specialists.

Which companies are enforcing five days in the office?

Recently, Amazon and AT&T mandated employees to work on-site five days a week, with JPMorgan Chase planning to implement a full-time office requirement in March. They are joining a group of companies that have already required their white-collar workers to return to the office for three to five days weekly, including Walmart, UPS, Disney, Meta, and Apple.

According to a July survey by Owl Labs, which produces video conferencing equipment, 44% of hybrid employees (those working some days in the office and others remotely) reported that they engage in coffee badging. In contrast, only 19% of over 1,500 respondents to a LinkedIn survey conducted last summer admitted to coffee badging, while 31% acknowledged having done it at some point. This aligns with industry estimates suggesting that about one in five white-collar workers participate in coffee badging, as stated by John Frehse, global labor strategy head for consulting firm Ankura.

Furthermore, 79% of companies acknowledge non-compliance with return-to-office mandates as an issue, as per an October survey by ResumeTemplates.com. Of those surveyed, 40% noted that employees often do not stay for a full day, and 7% reported that some manipulate sign-in systems.

Amazon, which previously required its 350,000 corporate employees to work on-site three days each week, could monitor who was coffee badging because employees are required to swipe their IDs when entering and leaving. Managers would address those who only spent a minimal amount of time in the office.

“We want to make sure people spend meaningful time with their teams in the office,” stated Amazon spokesperson Zoe Hoffman. This, according to company representatives, enhances culture, collaboration, and innovation.

However, since employees are required to return full-time this month, the company no longer feels it needs to track minimum attendance time, Hoffman remarked.

Why do employees resist returning to the office?

Coffee badging reflects the growing disconnect between corporate executives and their employees. A KPMG survey, along with the Society for Human Resource Management, indicates that 79% of U.S. CEOs anticipate a complete return to office in the next three years.

In contrast, a recent YSL News survey revealed that 58% of white-collar employees favor working remotely at least three days a week.

Several HR professionals argue that workers have valid reasons for their preferences.

“Most individuals have shown that they can be productive while working remotely,” Nickson noted. Consequently, when employees are compelled to return to the office, particularly for a full week, “the temptation to engage in this behavior often arises.”

HR experts suggest that working remotely allows employees to avoid lengthy commutes and office distractions, while also providing the flexibility to balance work and personal commitments.

“They will choose to work in ways that suit them best,” commented Cali Williams Yost, CEO of Flex + Strategy Group, which assists companies in implementing flexible work policies.

“If the message remains solely about being in the office,” she continued, “employees quickly realize that spending five days there “is a waste of time. I can just badge in and leave.”

Most employees who coffee badge express their dissatisfaction with the requirement to be back in the office full-time, although some hybrid workers also partake in this behavior, according to Nickson and Frehse.

What percentage of employees are back in the office?

Nationwide, approximately 20% of those able to work remotely are in the office every weekday, while 55% are hybrid, and 26% work exclusively from home, according to a Gallup poll conducted in November.

Many individuals manage to coffee badge simply because their own managers participate and are not present to monitor attendance, Nickson pointed out. According to the Owl Labs survey, nearly half of managers engage in coffee badging.

Moreover, 59% of workers surveyed by Owl Labs admitted to being caught coffee badging, but their employer did not take issue with it. Conversely, 11% reported being caught and now must work in the office full-time. Employees are often reported for coffee badging by coworkers who resent having to comply with attendance requirements while others do not, Nickson noted.

Coffee badging sends a powerful message from employees, Frehse suggested, emphasizing that the hardest part of working in an office is simply getting there.

“In cases where they leave shortly after arriving, it often stems from a toxic workplace or a lack of value in being physically present,” he noted in an email.

What incentives might draw people back to the office?

About a quarter of workers surveyed by Owl Labs indicated that they could be enticed to come into the office with incentives like free or subsidized meals, reimbursement for commuting expenses, more privacy while working, or a relaxed dress code.

At the same time, the phenomenon of coffee badging presents challenging dilemmas for lower and mid-level managers. While corporate leaders enforce return-to-office policies, direct supervisors may hesitate to reprimand or discipline employees who try to circumvent the rules, Nickson shared.

“Managers notice that work is still getting done,” he said. “So why bother having such a difficult discussion?”

Addressing the issue poses the risk that employees may decide to leave, which can incur substantial costs for replacement, Nickson mentioned. Others might become disengaged, negatively impacting productivity, warned Yost.

As a result, many managers tend to overlook the situation.

Why are companies insistent about employees returning to the office?

When implementing return-to-office mandates, CEOs often cite intentions to enhance employee collaboration, morale, and creativity. However, employees frequently find themselves performing the same tasks they conducted from home and attending the same Zoom meetings, noted Nickson.

Instead, the mandates would be Yost suggested that productivity might improve if companies mandated employees to work on-site two to three days a week, while also organizing activities that encourage growth and teamwork during those days.

“Then they won’t coffee badge,” she stated.

What are the advantages of coffee badging?

Some professionals see coffee badging as a beneficial development. It allows employees to adhere to return-to-office policies while still managing personal and family responsibilities.

“They have the flexibility to connect with colleagues in the office, handle personal tasks during lunch, and fulfill their work from home,” Jessica Kriegel, chief strategy officer at Culture Partners, mentioned in a post on LinkedIn.

“Unfortunately, some leaders perceive this as deceitful,” she continued, highlighting that one organization opted for a monitoring system.

Others think this practice undermines the genuine intention of asking workers to return to their workspaces to enhance efficiency.

“Coffee badging does not equate to meaningful face-to-face interactions; it consists of brief, superficial exchanges,” Henna Pryor, an expert in workplace performance, stated in a June article for Inc.com. “It’s the casual chats by the water cooler, quick discussions in hallways, and shared lunches that truly help teams align.”

Frehse shares a negative perspective on coffee badging for another reason. He believes businesses want employees back in the office due to a lack of trust in their workforce.

As he expressed, “the leadership team has the expectation of traditional eight-hour workdays spent physically at the office. They don’t simply want employees to ‘check in.’”

“Coffee badging,” he remarked, “is a clear sign of issues within the workplace.”

Tim Barnhart has encountered coffee badging employees in two separate roles.

As a former manager at Numerica Credit Union in Spokane, Washington, he observed that around 10% of staff would come in for a brief time after the company requested a partial return to the office in 2022.

“They would show up in the morning and then I wouldn’t see them the rest of the day,” Barnhart recalled. He communicated to them, “Hey, I see what you’re doing. I understand your reasons, but this policy comes from higher management and it’s not optional.”

Eventually, employees began to stay for the entire workday, he noted.

Later, in late 2023, when Ignitium, a marketing tech company based in Spokane where he played a key role, faced a similar challenge and considerable pushback against a return-to-office policy, the company opted to eliminate the mandate, allowing employees to choose between remote work and working in the office.

“By providing them support,” he explained, “they become more committed to you and your company.”