A majority of workers (57%) in the most recent CNBC | SurveyMonkey Workforce Happiness Survey says they would support calling for everyone in their workplace or office to get a Covid-19 vaccination once it’s available to the public. While US political leaders have been reluctant to enact comprehensive regulations regarding the coronavirus, business leaders may find themselves in a unique position that would allow them to enforce tough measures in their work environment.
Health professionals have recognized that vaccination is key to fully reopening businesses, workplaces and schools. In the new survey of 9,000+ workers across the country, conducted November 30 through December 7, nearly four in ten workers (39%) said they are still not fully in the office, including 22% who still work entirely from home.
But business leaders and HR teams are in trouble: without a fully vaccinated workforce, they cannot guarantee the safety of their employees, and yet many employees are still reluctant to receive the vaccine – and more are nervous about being forced to do so by theirs Employer.
Age is a factor in the vaccine view
Workers in some industries are more likely than others to support vaccination requirements for their colleagues. Those in guidance and research (68%), entertainment and leisure (67%), and technology (64%) are the most likely to be in favor of getting vaccinations before returning to work.
Healthcare and pharmaceutical workers are no more likely than workers as a whole to be in favor of vaccinating workers before returning to work (57%).
Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, will be welcomed by Dr. Michelle Chester of Northwell Health at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, USA, vaccinated with Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccine, 2020.
Mark Lennihan | Reuters
Danielle Lombard-Sims, the University of Arkansas hiring director for medical sciences and a member of the CNBC Workforce Executive Council, says her organization allows employees to enroll rather than require vaccinations.
“We have been extremely impressed with the response from our employees as many of them actually chose to. We have administered over 500 vaccinations in one day and expect to have the first allocation of 2,000 Covid-19 vaccinations by the end of the week will take place. ” “Says Lombard Sims.
Workers aged 65 and over (73%) are much more likely than their younger cohorts to support the need for vaccinations before returning to work, especially when compared to workers aged 35 to 44, of whom only 51% support the idea.
Age is an important factor in workers’ views on compulsory vaccination in the workplace, although it is not just about older workers. The youngest working population is most likely to support a Covid-19 vaccine need.
Depending on their race, white and black workers equally support compulsory vaccination for their colleagues, while Hispanic workers and – by the vast majority – Asian workers, are significantly more likely to advocate the likelihood of requesting vaccinations.
Partisan politics drives the vaccination mood
But, like so much in 2020, partiality is the real driver of disagreement. Three-quarters of Democrats (75%) support vaccination in their workplace as soon as it is widely available, compared with just 41% of Republicans. Independent are exactly in the middle, 55% are in favor of vaccinations.
More dramatically, 41% of Republicans are “strongly” against the requirement that all coworkers be vaccinated as soon as they are available, reflecting a degree of polarization that makes it difficult for companies to develop vaccination strategies.
Views on vaccination and the safe return to work are widely broken among employees because of their political party, and this reflects other recent polls showing the influence of partisanship on the issue of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Much polls support this new evidence that partisanship has entered the vaccination debate and created a deep wedge between Republicans and Democrats. In the latest Axios Ipsos coronavirus index, 26% of Republicans, but only 17% of Democrats and 18% of Independents say they would refuse to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
The Kaiser Family Foundation’s new COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report finds that Republicans (42%) are more vaccine-reluctant than any other cohort, including by bias, age, race, and geographic location.
SurveyMonkey’s own survey, in collaboration with Outbreaks Near Me, a joint team of epidemiologists from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, shows that 60% of Democrats, but only 42% of Republicans, want to get the new Covid-19 vaccine right away.
Discrepancies in the above results are largely due to the multiple ways pollers ask about vaccine hesitation, which in turn reflects the competing public opinion factors associated with getting a vaccine. As illustrated in the data from SurveyMonkey and Outbreaks Near Me, concerns range from risks related to the risk of side effects or allergies to fear of needles, religious concerns and so on.
But political concerns are also widespread, and these are reflected in much more than just reluctance to get a vaccine. Data from the Pew Research Center shows a 19 point (69% to 50%) gap between Republicans and Democrats who say they would be vaccinated against the coronavirus. In addition, they find similar party-political differences in the number of people who say they are “harassed” when people around them are not wearing face masks and in the number of people who are “harassed” when in stores the buyers must wear face coverings.
Basically, the Pew data point to a larger underlying problem: the lack of agreement among the partisans on fundamental facts related to the severity of the pandemic and the associated trust in political and scientific institutions. About half of Republicans who are Democrats view the outbreak as a public health threat, according to the Pew report (43% versus 84%). In addition, only 22% of Republicans say they have great faith in scientists, compared with 55% of Democrats.
Returning to work is already a difficult endeavor for CEOs and HR professionals, and political considerations are another challenge. Although most workers have now returned to work in person, at least in part, business leaders will want to do whatever they can to maintain the trust of their employees. In this environment, despite the disadvantages, this can mean stringent vaccination requirements. Whether they choose to or not, some employees will perceive this as a politically motivated decision rather than just a safety measure.
The CNBC | SurveyMonkey Workforce Happiness Survey for the fourth quarter of 2020 was conducted among 9,209 Americans from November 30 to December 30. 7 Using SurveyMonkey’s online platform and based on the survey methodology.
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