Companies trying to clampdown on home working has led to a rise in staff nipping in and out of offices in order to simply gain credit, research suggests.
One in three people in the UK able to flexibly work admit to so-called “coffee badging”, according to Telegraph-cited research by hybrid working company Owl Labs.
This refers to the act of drawing attention to the fact you’re at work in person, for instance by visibly getting a coffee in front of a manager, before inconspicuously clocking off soon after.
Following attempts by firms to claw staff back into offices after the pandemic, the figures suggest ongoing reluctance or a willingness to bend hybrid working rules by some.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.), Manchester United and Boots are among companies to have pushed for corporate staff to return to in-person working recently.
Civil service employees have also been encouraged to increase the time spent back in offices, though such moves have gone as far as causing backlash from unions.
Some have taken to attempt making in-person work more exciting and interesting through freebies and even the likes of entertainment, known as “office peacocking”.
According to Forbes, just 10% of those in the UK with the option to work at home went into the office as of last summer, while 10% exclusively worked remotely and 29% were flexible.
In contrast, just 4.7% of UK employees worked from home in 2019, before the pandemic.
Experts noted the switch from office to home working was likely irreversible, despite companies' best efforts.
“Ping pong tables, full office pantries and extravagant happy hours no longer appeal to the modern worker,” Nahla Khaddage Bou-Diab, a leadership expert and bank head in Lebanon, said.
“Staff are now looking for much more profound benefits, such as flexibility.”
Owl Labs chief executive Frank Weishaupt added: “Employees are hired to do a job, not to be watched at work.”
“Tempting workers back with office perks or enforcing a return to the office mandate is a dead concept.”