(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Remote workers are getting around new attendance requirements at the office by doing what’s known as “coffee badging.”
An employee will do the bare minimum by scanning their security badge, or ID, to get into the office, maybe grab a cup of coffee and chat up co-workers before hitting the road again. In some cases, workers who moved significant distances away during the pandemic may be flying in to coffee-badge and appear more present.
This trend started a year ago as major banks started mandating in-office work, Jason Wachtel, managing partner at JW Michaels & Company in Chicago, told the Noon Business Hour.
“Now a lot of these companies [are] requiring this hybrid work force, but a lot of people moved throughout the country,” he said. “Now, they’re flying back for a day or two to swipe their badges. They’re there for an hour or two and then they leave.”
Wachtel said this can hurt worker morale at the office, with some employees angry that their bosses have gone back on their word about flexibility. He said the average hybrid work week is three days in the office, but that may be moving toward four days a week.
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