Wake up, get ready, leave for the office, grab a coffee and leave for home to work; this is how coffee badging is done, and Amazon has started to monitor it profusely. The e-commerce giant considers coffee badging to be a direct violation of its return-to-office policy as reported by Business Insider.
Grab a coffee, dash for home: Amazon says “Not so fast”
The question arises how did Amazon employees bypass the rule?
Since Amazon didn’t set the minimum working hours for its employees, it became easier to dodge. This led the company to create new instructions that mandate at least two hours per visit to count as office attendance. Teams like cloud computing and retail have to conform to this rule. According to reports, certain teams have been instructed to stay for at least six hours in the office.
Ink Dive: Office Peacocking vs. Coffee Badging: Who’s Winning?
But why coffee badge?
Amazon encountered substantial resistance from its workforce following the announcement of its return-to-office policy early last year, with approximately 30,000 employees signing an internal petition in opposition.
Nevertheless, Amazon responded by reinforcing its stance, compelling employees to relocate closer to their teams and suspending promotions for those who did not comply.
In an email to Business Insider, Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan stated that the company would “speak directly” to employees who had not spent sufficient time in the office.
Is Amazon the lone warrior in coffee badging?
A survey by Owl Labs last year revealed that 58% of hybrid workers admitted partaking in the act. On the other hand, another survey by WFH Research deduced that managers are increasingly stringent in enforcing return-to-office policies. According to the survey, 23% of managers indicated that employees who resisted these policies faced termination, a significant rise from 11% in 2022.
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