A badge that says guest makes the terms of your presence visible and temporary. You belong, for today, in a way everyone can read at a glance, and the date on it is doing most of the work. Membership is usually conditional; most of the time it just is not printed.

It is worth noticing where you are a guest without a badge, and where others are guests in your space. A new colleague, a partner’s family, a group you have joined recently. Making the terms clearer and warmer, saying what would make someone a full member and when, removes a lot of quiet anxiety.