Expert reveals 3 'Coffee Badging' red flags as controversial office trend forces companies to take action

The controversial new office trend called 'Coffee Badging' is causing a stir, and that has led to one expert coming out to share his red flags about the phenomenon.

Since the world of work has completely changed thanks to the global pandemic, most people were confined to work from their house and believed that this was the way we’d work until well into the future.

However, it wasn’t too long until we were all called back to the office again and had to don some new ways of navigating the space, such as keeping our distance, wearing face masks and sanitising our hands like mad.

Our daily routines changed outside of the office, but what was harder to navigate was the way we now had to work.

Since then, there has been a rise in 'Coffee Badging'... but what is it and what are these red flags?

Coffee Badging could get you fired if you're not careful (Getty Stock Image)

What is Coffee Badging?

It is the act of young workers popping into the office to make a cuppa and hop into a quick meeting before buggering off, just to fulfil the new in-person office requirements that many companies have in place.

Or, you could get your mate in the office to log you into the office, while you’re actually working from home.

Because of this trend, companies are watching out of people who are essentially slacking on the job, and it could even end up getting you fired.

According to expert Robert Jonhs, a Hackr.io Technical Editor, ‘finding a way to work around it may work against you’ and provided his three red flags to watch out for so you don’t get fired for ‘C Badging’.

With his tips, you can ‘keep your job and enjoy working the way you like to work’.

The person who logs you into the office, known as a Badger, needs to be coordinated in all of your plans.

Here's the red flags you need to look out for so you can work around them.

Coffee Badging is particularly common amongst younger workers (Getty Stock Image)

IP Address

The first tip that Jonhs mentioned was that if you’re ‘accessing company systems remotely while your badge has been swiped at the office’, they can tell when you’re active.

Therefore, you should consider using ‘a VPN service to root your home IP through the office work’ to avoid being caught, as it’ll look ‘like you're accessing anywhere and everywhere from the office itself’ and not at home.

Security Cameras

You’ve got to imagine you’re hiding from Big Brother here and be mindful of those cameras.

Jonhs explained: “Lots of officers have security cameras at entrances and common areas and if your Badger logs you in but the cameras don't show your face, that might raise some questions.”

He added that you should aim to at the very ‘least show your face once a day’ and ‘walk through visible areas on your way to the exit’ so you’ve shown your presence in the office, instead of relying on someone swiping your card to clock you in while you’re still in bed.

Make sure you follow these rules (Getty Stock Image)

Unexpected in-person requirements

It’s not uncommon for a random meeting request to be emailed out, which is why Jonhs wants you to make sure you’re ready for it to happen.

He said: “This one's really tricky- if there's an unexpected meeting or event and you're working from home that day without a legitimate reason, it could look suspicious.”

So, you need to ‘stay in tune with the office schedule and have a few believable excuses ready for sudden absences’.

Calling it the ‘biggest’ risk, the expert suggests coming up with something good, so you’re not caught out.