If your company is transitioning workers back to being in the office, you might now wonder if that means you need to go back to trying to get noticed all the time.

Working from home, all your boss had to gauge you on was whether you did assignments well and on time. But has that changed the dynamic of how the office used to be?

The Wall Street Journal says that appearances still matter, though you can be more strategic about it now.

If your office is now operating under a hybrid schedule and you have some flexibility to choose your days on site, it would be wise to take some cues from what your boss does.

If they are choosing to be in the office every day again, it is safe to assume that they believe there is value to being there. So if you want to rise in esteem in your boss’ eyes, it would likely be smart to at least make some appearances.

However, as the WSJ explains, you do not need to be making up excuses to constantly interact with your boss. Sometimes passive face time is enough.

For instance, if you know the current season is an important time for the office’s goals, it might gain you some respect just to be seen coming in a bit earlier and staying a bit later. Even without speaking to your boss, this communicates to them that you are someone reliable and dedicated.

In fact, the WSJ actually warns that trying too hard to get noticed can actually have a detrimental impact. If you are feeling exhausted but decide to stay for the company party anyway in hopes of being seen by management, you will likely be irritable and low energy by that point. So in your big moment of being noticed, you could develop a reputation you don’t like.

Face time is still valuable now, but it bears more consideration of when to look for it. Think of who could really advance your career, when the best time to see them is, and what context of them seeing you would be most significant to them. Face time for its own sake is not always beneficial.

Still curious how much face time with your boss is enough? Get more insight from The Wall Street Journal article.

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