It’s 9 AM. Your badge system shows 200 employees have entered the building. By 10 AM, sensors reveal only 75 are still inside. The others? They grabbed coffee and left. Now you’ve got empty desks, meeting rooms nobody’s using, and energy running for people who aren’t there. That’s coffee badging. It’s costing you, but you can fix it. Occuspace sensors go beyond badge swipes and tell you who’s really in the building so you can cut waste and work smarter. And with 65% of organizations requiring three days in-office a week, the stakes for getting space right just went up.

Badge swipes just show you when people enter. They don’t reveal who’s actually working onsite. Occuspace sensors fill the gap with real-time, anonymous occupancy data so you can save money and use space better.

What Is Coffee Badging?

Coffee badging is when employees show up at the office just long enough to meet attendance rules, often just for a coffee, then leave to work elsewhere. People comply with the policy but skip the full office day.

58% of hybrid remote workers are coffee badging instead of working full days at the office. The trend started as companies pushed return-to-office, but people preferred remote work. 47% of managers and 34% of other employees do it, so it’s happening everywhere.

70% of coffee badgers have been caught. But 59% say their leaders didn’t react. The practice lives on.

Workspace use drops fast. Spaces are set up for big crowds, but most desks sit idle. Rooms stay booked, yet no one shows. Meanwhile, the building runs at full blast.

• HVAC and lights keep humming for empty spaces.
• Energy costs rise while workstations stay unused.
• Bookings look busy, but real use tells a different story.

Let’s fix the gap between what’s scheduled and what’s used. Optimized and right-size spaces. Dial back systems when no one’s there. Save energy without slowing work.

Remote Flexibility Meets In-Office Expectations

People like remote work: no commute, better balance, familiar surroundings. Leaders want teams in person to build culture, spark ideas, and keep everyone connected.

That leaves you, to sort it out. You need data to balance what people want with what the company needs. Badge data just shows entry. It doesn’t show how long people stay or what they use.

Coffee badging shows that work culture needs to catch up to hybrid expectations.

How Occuspace Sensors Track Coffee Badging

Occuspace sensors scan wireless signals to count people, no cameras, no names, no tracking individuals. They spot Bluetooth and WiFi signals from laptops and phones.

Your data stays private. The sensors see groups, not individuals. They map out how full rooms are and when spaces get used.

With real-time data and history in one place, you see when people arrive, how long they stay, and which rooms are actually used. Short visits stand out. You spot coffee badging right away.

Easy Setup, Fast Results

Setup is plug-and-play. Drop in the sensors. They’re online in 15 seconds. You don’t need to rewire or change your space.

Connect the sensors to your other building systems through simple APIs. You get insights right away. No workflow headaches.

You can even push live data into internal apps and screens, so everyone sees the latest occupancy numbers.

See How People Actually Work

With Occuspace, you unlock new insights:

• See how long people stick around after swiping in
• Find the busiest times for coffee badging
• Spot the difference between badge data and actual presence
• See trends over weeks and months, and track changes when you update policies

Instead of guessing what people do, you get facts. You’re ready to adapt.

Actionable Tips for Facility Managers

• Use real-time occupancy data to manage heating, cleaning, and security. Adjust quickly if the office empties after coffee.
• Make in-person days count, schedule brainstorming and collaboration sessions so people want to linger.
• Plan for future space needs with real usage data. No more overestimating based on badge counts.
• If data shows short office visits, rethink schedules and resource use. Align spaces with what’s really happening.

As covered in our agile offices guide, successful facility managers shape their spaces around how people work, not just how they plan to.

Frequently Asked Questions

What plug-and-play insights (dashboards, APIs) can facility managers get?

• Ready-to-use dashboards with real-time and historical data
• Peak usage times, average stay, and patterns by space
• APIs to stream data to signage, apps, or automation systems

How can space managers get location and movement (floor/zone heatmaps, flows) data?

• Deploy sensors across zones and floors to generate heatmaps
• Track movement to see flows and which areas draw crowds
• Identify underused areas for new uses or redesign

Can I get historical and real-time occupancy in one unified platform?

Yes. Occuspace puts both views side by side. You see what’s happening now and long-term patterns on the same dashboard.

This helps you act in the moment and plan for the future without switching platforms.

Lead With Occupancy Intelligence

Turn coffee badging from a roadblock into an advantage. Use Occuspace to create flexible, efficient workspaces that fit how people really work. Don’t fight the trend - learn from it and adapt.

Occuspace gives you accurate, privacy-focused data that shows where and how people use your space. You cut waste, save money, and deliver better workplace experiences, no matter how long someone stays onsite.

The best organizations measure results by productivity, not just presence. When you understand coffee badging, you make smarter choices for both employees and the company.

Ready to turn coffee badging into strategic insight?