How it works
Attendance policies take a few forms: a minimum number of days per week, a share of time over a month or quarter, named days such as Tuesday to Thursday, or team-set days with a company-wide minimum. Some add rules on which days may be remote, such as no remote Mondays or Fridays.
The number of days matters less than whether the right people overlap. Two days a week that a team agrees together often produce more collaboration than three days chosen at random. For that reason many organizations pair a minimum with anchor days or team days, so attendance clusters around the people who need each other.
Compliance is measured from presence data: check-ins, badge swipes, network presence or bookings. Each signal has limits. Bookings show intent, badges show entry but not duration, and none of them show whether time in the office was useful. Workplace teams usually report attendance by team and weekday and read it next to occupancy and employee feedback.
How to measure it
- Report the share of people meeting the policy by team, not only the company average.
- Use check-ins or network presence rather than bookings alone, so no-shows do not count as attendance.
- Decide in advance what counts as a day in the office, for example whether a short visit or a parking booking counts.
- Track which weekdays are busiest; policies with open day choice usually concentrate attendance midweek.
Examples
- A company requires three days a week but lets each team choose which three, and publishes team days in the booking app.
- A professional body sets a minimum share of office time over a month instead of fixed days, so people can cluster their time around projects.
Benchmarks
RCS England's policy required staff in the office 20% of the time, and many were not meeting it before the college introduced desk booking and team coordination.
Kadence customer story: RCS EnglandKadence booking data from over 500 companies showed that, in November 2024, US hybrid work had settled at two office days per week.
Kadence Hybrid Pulse CheckAmong Fortune 500 companies, full-time requirements jumped from 13% to 24% in two quarters, and required office days rose from 2.3 to 2.9 on average.
Kadence guide: Return to office (citing the Q2 2025 Flex Index Report)
Common mistakes
- Setting a day count without a purpose for office time, which produces presence without collaboration.
- Counting bookings as attendance, which overstates compliance when people book and do not come.
- Sizing the office to the policy on paper rather than to measured peak days.
- Enforcing attendance so rigidly that everyone clusters on the same days and overloads the floor.
How Kadence helps
Kadence records attendance from check-ins: automatic check-in by the Kadence Agent on the office network, check-ins from badge data, kiosks or room displays, and Automatic Bookings for people who arrive without a booking. Admins choose what counts as in-office, Workplace Insights reports attendance and average weekly hours, and Insights Plus custom dashboards (WorkOps Pro or add-on) include policy compliance reporting.
Workplace analytics · Workplace occupancy · RCS England story · Hybrid work policy template
Frequently asked questions
How many days a week should employees be in the office?
There is no single right number. It depends on how much your teams rely on working together, the purpose of office time and the space you have. Many organizations settle on two or three days, but coordinated days matter more than the count: fewer days that teams share usually beat more days chosen at random.
Is three days a week in the office normal?
Three days a week is a widely used expectation, especially in structured hybrid models at large organizations, but measured attendance often runs below the written policy. Before adopting it, check whether your office can hold the peak day at that level and whether teams will use the days together.
How do companies track office attendance?
Companies track attendance with badge data, desk and room check-ins, presence on the office network and bookings. Each has gaps: bookings show intent rather than presence, and badges show entry but not how long someone stayed. Combining signals, and reporting by team rather than by individual, gives a more accurate and less intrusive picture.
What is the difference between an attendance policy and a hybrid work policy?
An attendance policy sets how often people are expected in the office. A hybrid work policy is broader: it covers why the organization works hybrid, eligibility, how teams coordinate, booking rules, meeting norms, manager duties and how success is measured. The attendance rule is one section of the hybrid work policy.
Related terms
- Hybrid work policy The written rules for how hybrid work runs: office days, booking, meetings, manager duties and how success is measured.
- Office attendance rate The share of employees, or of expected office days, that people actually spend in the office, measured from presence data.
- Anchor days Set days each week when a team or company agrees to be in the office together, with the other days flexible.
- Return to office (RTO) An employer requirement that remote or hybrid staff spend more time in the office, either full time or on set days.
- Coffee badging Badging into the office to register attendance, staying briefly, often for a coffee, then leaving to work elsewhere.
- Hybrid policy compliance Reporting on whether individuals and teams meet the organization's in-office expectations over time, such as 45 of 52 weeks.
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed