What is Coffee Badging?
Coffee badging refers to behaviour where employees come to the office and stay just long enough to ensure that their presence is noted. They grab a coffee, chat with colleagues, and leave soon to finish their work remotely for the rest of the day.
The term coffee badging was first coined in the 2023 report by OWL lab. Where 58% of employees admitted indulging in coffee badging and another 8% were considering it for the future. Because they don’t feel comfortable, focused and productive while working from the office.
Coffee badging is gaining popularity in 2024 as companies enforce return-to-office (RTO) policies. These policies make it compulsory for employees to go to the office a certain number of days per week.
Objectively, coffee badging wastes employees’ time and money as they complete the work only after returning home. There are many reasons to prefer working remotely such as,
- More autonomy and flexibility
- Saving time and money by eliminating the daily commute
- Greater privacy
- Fewer interruptions and distractions
- Sense of higher control and productivity
We witnessed major shift in priorities after COVID-19. Now, people value health and work-life balance over money. Many employees are also willing to take up to a 10% pay cut to keep working from home.
Coffee badging may look like, employees taking advantage of the loophole. But it is a sign of a disconnect between the employee and the employer. Now, coffee badging is a temporary tactic to avoid getting in the bad books of the employer & avoid measures like quiet quitting.
The major reason to promote the work from office is often stated as collaboration but, the employees have been doing that remotely since Covid-19 pandemic just fine. So, even after office peacocking employees find the offices distracting and choose coffee badging.
Working from the office has some merits. But coffee badging indicates a danger of high employee turnover if the necessary flexibility is not restored. Providing flexibility is the easiest way to maintain productivity and avoid the need for coffee badging.
