Remember quiet quitting?
That was when extra effort died and doing just enough to survive the payroll cycle became the new baseline. Quiet quitting was a strike against effort.
Coffee Badging is the sequel. This time the strike is against presence.
You know that corporate event you’d rather fake your own death than attend — where you show up, plaster on a fake smile, be seen, and disappear before the next round of small talk?
Coffee Badging has the same playbook. Badge in. Grab a coffee. Get seen. Get lost.
It lives in the gap between employees who want autonomy and employers who want warm bodies in cubicles.
Leadership’s response has been predictable. Rather than offering flexibility or real change, they’re more likely to offer warm pizza and motivational posters.