After a long remote working, companies are also implementing work from office (WFO), and Office Peacocking and coffee Badging are its new trends.
Owl Labs (a company that builds 360-degree videoconferencing solutions) released its 2023 State of Hybrid Work report. Among full-time U.S. workers surveyed by Owl Labs there were the following findings:
- 69% of respondents believe that their company is requiring them to work from the office because of traditional work expectations.
- 23% of employees changed companies in 2023, and this was more common among full-time office workers (26%) than hybrid/remote workers (17%).
- 1 in 3 workers (33%) spends 31-45 minutes commuting one way.
- Almost half (46%) of workers are “polyworking” with a side hustle or additional job, and a further 36% plan on starting one in the future.
- 1 in 4 workers (25%) would be willing to sacrifice 15% of their annual salary for flexible working hours.
- More than half (58%) of hybrid employees “coffee badge” – also known as showing their face at the office and then leaving.
- 56% of workers said that their level of work-related stress has increased since last year.
- 94% of workers say they could be convinced to come to the office.
- If no longer able to work remotely, 29% of hybrid and remote workers would expect a pay increase to make up for additional costs.
- Only 37% of employers have upgraded their video meeting technology in 2023.
- 54% believe that business trips in their organization have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
- 68% of managers believe that their hybrid/remote working employees are missing out on impromptu or in-formal feedback.
- 80% of workers experience lost time due to technical difficulties during online/hybrid meetings.
- 44% of workers said generative AI will help them do their jobs faster and more effectively in the next five years.
- 64% of respondents feel that their company uses too many communication platforms.
Every day it feels like a new term is introduced – from quiet quitting to office peacocking. Major companies have forced return-to-office mandates and then switched their positions after employee pushback.
Other companies have implemented work-from-anywhere policies and seen reduced turnover. Some have tested the 4-day work week and saw an increase in productivity. It can feel impossible to keep up with the latest trends.
Another new trend is “coffee badging” – the act of going into the office to “show face” for a few hours and then leaving – which is more popular than one might think. More than half of hybrid employees (58%) have “coffee badged” with an additional 8% saying they haven’t but would like to try it.
Many hybrid workers go to the office for just a few hours to show their face (i.e., “coffee badging”):
- People who coffee badge: 58%
- People who prefer to work in the office for the full workday: 34%
- People who don’t coffee badge but are interested in doing so: 8%
Today, flexibility reigns supreme and hybrid is what employees desire despite a majority of US employees having already returned to the office full-time (66% of those surveyed, to be exact). The full report can be read by click here.
