HR Survey Shows Only 7% of Companies Will Require Vaccinations

Since the pandemic and the great migration to work-from-home, the landscape of work has been permanently altered.

But how much has changed, and is it for better or worse?

In Q2 2021, TINYpulse surveyed 770 HR leaders and managers on their vaccination policies, favorability on returning to in-person work, and predicted attrition. Organizations ranged in size from 1 to 2,200,000 employees.

Now, as organizations worldwide plan their return to work, vaccination policies and "The Great Resignation" have emerged as a prominent issue.

Some of the results were surprising, as companies are treading lightly on employee personal preferences for health and safety at work.

  • 48% of organizations encourage vaccinations, and 28% have no formal policy. A mere 7% of companies mandate vaccinations. It’s likely that the majority of organizations without a vaccine policy are making a deliberate choice to not influence employee’s health decisions.

  • As a side note, according to CNN, generally employers can mandate that workers be vaccinated. But federal laws may require companies to provide exemptions or reasonable accommodations to workers who aren't vaccinated due to a disability or religious belief.

  • 43% of HR managers in Finance and Insurance reported their workers feel negatively toward returning to the office.

  • Remote employees experience the highest level of Employee Exhaustion (85% vs 61% in person), when compared with in-person or Hybrid employees.

  • 75% of HR leaders reported their employees are experiencing “somewhat to a great deal” of burnout.

  • 62.8% of HR leaders reported that Hybrid work optimizes Employee Performance in their organization.

Despite the burnout issues, other research supports the fact that employees have proved an ability to get their work done and collaborate effectively while working remotely. A FlexJobs survey of more than 2,100 people who worked remotely during the pandemic from March 17, 2021 through April 5, 2021. found that 55% said their productivity increased while working remotely, while 33% said it stayed the same.

A recent LinkedIn poll conducted by MATRIX confirmed that employees are happy about continuing the prospects of remote or hybrid work arrangements. The poll of 882 workers showed that 50% of the respondents to the question, “How do you want to return to work after the pandemic?” answered ‘full-time remote’ as their preferred choice, followed by 46% preferring a ‘hybrid approach’, while only 6% said they want to return to the office full time.

Source: TINYpulse