Offices are waiting for remote workers. They are in no hurry to return

Businesses continue to bring employees back to the office, and they are finding workarounds. In recent weeks, a trend known as coffee badging has gained popularity: a person arrives at work but spends only a few hours there – enough time to drink coffee, attend a meeting, and return home before the afternoon rush hour begins.

An alternative to the “quiet dismissal”

This hidden protest is connected with the employees’ desire to regain control over their working hours and work-life balance. It can be considered an alternative to “quiet dismissal,” when the employee only performs the necessary minimum and spends the remaining time on their own needs.

The trend was first mentioned in report Owl Labs 2023:

• 58% of those working in a hybrid mode admitted to “showing up at the office and then leaving,”
• Another 8% said they don’t do this, but would like to.

Interestingly, the proportion of those who “come only for coffee” varied across generations. According to the report, this was the case for:

While the trend first began to be discussed last year, it has picked up steam again in recent weeks as major employers have tightened requirements for office visits.

Read on the topic:

Millennials Are Afraid to Grow Up. And Marketers Are Taking Advantage of It

Why Generation Z Is Ready to Quit Due to Value Conflicts

For example, Slack correspondence between Amazon employees was leaked to the media, where they were told they would need to be in the office for at least 2 hours to be counted as a work day. Other teams were told to be there for at least 6 hours.

The gap between workers and management

Several companies, including Amazon and Dell, have already tried to implement mandatory office attendance and deny promotions to those who don’t agree.

The “just pop in for coffee” trend is another sign of how much misunderstanding there is between management and employees regarding remote and hybrid work.

By the way, 52% of Russians would like to switch to remote work. Most often, employees aged 18 to 34 are interested in this format.

Source.

Cover photo: Unsplash