‘It’s totally unfair’: Amazon cracks down on workers ‘coffee badging.’ What is it?

Amazon is pushing its corporate employees to return to the office. However, its workers are pushing back through tactics like "coffee badging."

What is coffee badging?

Coffee badging is when a person swipes into the office on their required in-office days, grabs a cup of coffee, or makes some small talk with a colleague, and then leaves having only spent a fraction of the work day in the office.

This is a workaround for employees to be able to say they were, in fact, in the office on the day they were supposed to be, even if they didn't spend a "meaningful" amount of time there.

Many employees are doing this after they were forced to return to office despite vocalizing that they'd prefer to continue to the work-from-home model many companies successfully implemented during the pandemic, Business Insider reported.

In a survey by video conferencing company Owl Labs, 58% of respondents said they also coffee badged.

And this isn't the first time there's been a large wave of dissent among workers. People have become disillusioned with job security amid mass layoffs and others have taken to quiet quitting.

Amazon changes the rules

But retail giant Amazon, the second-largest employer in the United States, isn't having it, shares Deepali Vyas (@elite.recruiter), an executive recruiter with 25 years of experience, in a viral video with more than a million views.

Now, Amazon's corporate workers can't just swipe in and have it count as a "day," Business Insider reported. Several teams, including the retail and cloud computing units, were told they must stay in the office at least two to six hours per visit for their attendance to count. Very much giving school roll call vibes.

"Minimum of 2 hrs!? I’m ok with that…" a commenter wrote.

"This is such an insane approach. Caring about all the wrong metrics," another disagreed.

Employees remain frustrated by what they think is a regressive policy and resent the company's lack of transparency on "why" this is really so important. Many workers believe performance should be based on their metrics, not whether they show up to an office.

"There's a lot to deal with, and coffee badging is just the start," Vyas says in the video.

Backlash on Amazon's return to office

Last year, Amazon said that employees would have to return to the office but did not state a minimum amount of in-office time. More than 28,000 people joined a Slack group called “Remote Advocacy,” thousands signed petitions, and they held walkouts in several cities, including the Seattle headquarters.

Managers were told they could fire anyone who wouldn't comply with the policy, Forbes reported. Some employees were forced to move closer to their teams, and others were blocked from promotions because they did not comply. They've since started having one-on-one conversations with those not showing up to the office.

"The vast majority of employees are in the office more frequently, there's more energy, connection, and collaboration, and we're hearing that from employees and the businesses that surround our offices," Margaret Callahan, an Amazon spokesperson, told Business Insider.

And Amazon isn't the only big company to force workers back in the office. Disney, Google, and Apple also implemented their own policies.

Commenters weigh in on returns to the office

People in the comments section had several observations and opinions.

"I would like to see the badge history of the senior leadership," a top comment read.

"Can’t be productive at the office. I’m a chatterbox & can’t pay attention. But at home I can work all day alone in solitary. Sorry," a person shared.

"The commute is the worst part, so if I badge in then leave, it’s because I want to work heads down. The office just isn’t a good place to focus," another added.

The Daily Dot reached out to Vyas and Amazon for comment via email.

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