Coffee badging

In human resources, coffee badging refers to the act of employees going to the office after clocking in for a brief period, typically long enough to grab a coffee, before departing to work from elsewhere. This is done to fulfill office attendance requirements by hybrid and remote workers which arose following the return to in-person work following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coffee badging highlights that employers struggle with attractive, productive and stress-free office environments where employees willingly gather and reflects an erosion of trust between employees and their employers. Coffee badging has been described as a challenge to organic office participation.

Coffee badging has been criticized for incentivizing participation over productivity and contributing to empty office space. Coffee badging is a form of impression management in response to employee surveillance.

The term was coined in June 2023 by Owl Labs in a workforce management report.