Amid growing pressure to return to the office, hybrid workers are developing sophisticated ways to optimize (and minimize) their time at work.
First came “coffee badging”—where a hybrid or remote employee goes to the office just long enough to swipe his or her ID badge and grab a cup of coffee—to which some companies responded by tracking how long their workers stayed in the office.
Now, the latest example of possible workplace presenteeism is “calendar stalking,” or snooping on your bosses’ calendars to choose which days to go into the office.
According to USA Today, hybrid workers are “obsessively tracking their bosses’ Outlook schedules to maximize face time, coordinating their own office days to match so they can perform strategic walk-bys.”
The practice of “billboarding”—commuting to the office simply to show face—has grown in popularity due to RTO mandates.
In Owl Labs’ 2026 State of Hybrid Work survey, nearly half of workers (48%) said they have shown up in the office specifically to be seen by leaders or clients or plan to do so in the future.
The practice is far more common among managers, 83% of whom admitted taking part, than it is among individual contributors, just 17% of whom have participated.
The rise of these practices underscores the continuing tension between executives and workers over RTO mandates. While many executives believe requiring workers to be physically present increases productivity and innovation, commuting can be stressful and expensive, costing the average American worker nearly $7,000 per year.
Still, employers have continued to push for more face time. According to CBRE, the percentage of U.S. companies that expect workers to come in at least three days a week rose to 89% this year from 78% in 2025.
