As the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, a growing number of employers and companies are mandating their employees to return to the office.
However, some workers are responding with a new form of protest recently dubbed “coffee badging.”
The term refers to employees who show up to the office solely to have a cup of coffee, flash their badge, and then leave to do their work from home.
According to research carried out by Owl Labs, the trend has become widespread in offices across the United States.
The firm conducted a deep dive into the data and found that many employees are using the trend as a way of circumventing the physical office while still maintaining a presence in the organization.
Experts recommend that companies take proactive measures to counter coffee badging: Setting clear policies around remote work and ensuring that employees are aware of their rights and responsibilities as workers is a crucial first step. Another critical factor is acknowledging the benefits that remote work can offer employees and, by extension, the organization.
