No matter how old we are, we all love getting a gold star – that little stamp of approval that proves we’ve done a good job. It turns out, our psychological craving for praise runs deep. In fact, this latest workplace trend is just another example of our desire to feel as though we’re receiving a pat on the head.

Introducing ‘coffee badging’, a new workplace trend that sees people in flexible work environments coming into the office just for their morning coffee, getting a metaphorical ‘badge’ (think Girl Guides or Scouts), before heading off to complete their work for the day elsewhere. 

“Coffee badging is the practice of turning up at your office to show your face briefly before escaping back to your default option of working from home,” explains Liz Villani, founder of #BeYourselfAtWork and the #iAM global movement. “It’s presenteeism in the most fleeting of methods.”

The trend was noted by Forbes after a study by Owl Labs found that many employees were searching for creative ways to resist returning to the office. 

“People don’t want to spend time and money on frequent office pilgrimages if they’re just going to be sitting on the same video calls they’d be doing in the comfort of their own homes or on tasks that they feel less productive doing from the office,” said Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. “The data shows that many companies have more work to do to provide an attractive, productive and stress-free office environment that makes employees want to gather.”

We chatted to Villani about the bizarre trend to find out what is says about workplace culture today and whether we should be steering clear of it or leaning in.

What does coffee badging say about work culture today?

We’re in a strange time when it comes to office culture. Since the pandemic, more businesses than ever have been offering full remote work or some form of hybrid, flexible work. Many employees, Villani explains, aren’t quite ready for a return to full-time office life.

“Office workers have become so accustomed to working from home and have missed out on office interactions for so long, that popping in for a coffee could be the first step to getting used to a commute, getting used to office chit chat again and generally reintegrating with office life,” she says of the coffee badging trend. “Workers are showing up to offices out of obligation with office-day mandates coming into play now, but hopefully this can be the first step to people reintegrating and coming to appreciate working in an office and then coming for full days of their own volition.”

On the other hand, the trend also points to a more negative aspect of modern work culture, suggesting that “going into the office feels like a chore and something to be avoided at all costs”, which, Villani claims, “we desperately need to snap out of as a society”.

Is coffee badging a harmful habit?

According to Villani, maybe.

“If people are coffee badging solely to tick the box of being physically present in the office and not making any effort to interact with their colleagues, then it is a massive waste of time and opportunity,” she says, referring to the time spent commuting to and fro for the sake of getting a metaphorical ‘badge’. 

In fact, it could end up creating a rift between employees who are actually committing their time to being in the office.

“Those who coffee badge regularly could also risk becoming an unpopular subculture of office workers, the absurdity of this behaviour will only become more prominent and more engaged colleagues will start thinking negatively of the coffee badgers,” she says.

Are there any positives to coffee badging?

While making a long-term habit of coffee badging probably won’t do you or your colleagues much good, in an era where flexible work has made office life unfamiliar, it might be a good gateway.

“If people are coffee badging to wean themselves back into the routine of office life, then it’s undoubtedly a good thing,” she says. “Workers should make the effort to integrate with their colleagues and workplaces to improve their satisfaction, purpose and productivity.”

It might even help us rediscover the potential joy of being in the office with our colleagues.

“There’s a culture of viewing work as a negative thing and the inconvenience of going to an office is an extension of that which we need to drop,” says Villani. “Getting back to the office and reintegrating with our colleagues will help our businesses grow and above all will help people enjoy what they do for most of their waking hours.”

What other flexible work habits might you recommend instead?

“I would recommend workers throw themselves back into office working wholeheartedly and embrace the relationships and good work that follow,” suggests Villani. “Being surrounded by our colleagues is one of the best ways to find fulfilment in a job, so we should all take the leap.”

Of course, if you need a more flexible, hybrid work set-up, whether it be for accessibility, childcare or personal reasons, we recommend speaking to your manager or to someone from HR – instead of coffee badging and showing your face because you have to. Be honest and open about the flexibility you require to do your job to the best of your ability. That way, you won’t need to come up with creative solutions to any back-to-office mandates; instead, you’ll be able to come to work when it works for you – and when it’s actually helping you do your job.

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Images: Getty