President Joe Biden called for a vaccination mandate for companies with over 100 employees. He added that those who did not receive their shots would need to undergo weekly testing. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), with over 300,000 HR and business executive members in 165 countries, conducted a survey to find out what is happening in the workplace, in the wake of Biden’s decision.

The results revealed that 90% of employers responded that it will be “somewhat or very challenging to implement the Biden administration’s mandate.” The study, conducted in late September, composed of HR professionals and American workers, found “80% of organizations that meet the mandate criteria are concerned about the amount of time they will have to spend enforcing or tracking employees’ vaccination status or test status.”

Nearly 40% of the replies reported that retaining talent was the most challenging impact of the mandate and 89% feel that some employees will quit their jobs because of the new requirements. Roughly 65% of respondents said, “I cannot afford to pay for regular testing for unvaccinated employees.”

SHRM president and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. offered his perspective on the situation, stating,  “Clearly, as we await the federal government’s Emergency Temporary Standard detailing how this mandate is supposed to work, employers and employees are uneasy about the potential for disruptions in the workplace.”

He added, “The HR community has a lot on its plate right now, and we are doing all we can to see that organizations are prepared for what’s to come. We will continue engaging with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to see that employers are able to successfully implement these new regulations and mitigate the challenges they may bring.”

Here are some of the other highlights from the study:

• About 82% that meet the mandate criteria said the requirements will make maintaining the morale and engagement of their workforce more difficult.
• Seventy-two percent of those organizations said the requirements will make maintaining regular business operations more difficult.
• Nearly half, 49%, of all organizations said they are operating fully in-person, while eight percent said they are operating on a fully remote schedule and 44% said they are operating via a hybrid of remote and in-person work.
• Of organizations that did not mandate the vaccine before the announcement and that do not meet the new criteria for the vaccine requirements, 86% said they are unlikely to require their employees get the vaccine.
• Sixty percent of U.S. workers are supportive of the requirements, while 40% are unsupportive.
• Nearly 60% of U.S. workers who are not fully vaccinated yet said they still are unlikely to get vaccinated (definitely/probably won’t get vaccinated) even after the mandate.

The results of the study are illuminating and feel different than what we would have expected. It seems from the responses that the respondents are having challenges implementing the mandate, as it takes time, money and is disruptive to the everyday flow of work. There are also concerns over maintaining the morale of employees and retaining people due to the mandates.

While not mentioned in the survey, we can speculate that the recent study took place nearly 18 months after the initial Covid-19 outbreak. At this point in time, both leadership and employees are feeling fatigued over everything Covid-19 related. This may account for companies citing the costs, time and effort needed to enforce the program.

Post-Labor Day, businesses have been asking people to return to the office. Starting the long commute to and from the office, adhering to health protocols, such as wearing masks in the office and maintaining their social distance from co-workers, and juggling interacting with colleagues and supervisors in an in-office, hybrid and flexible model work style added a layer of stress and discomfort. This is especially acute, as most people were very comfortable with their work-from-home setup, having autonomy over their days and a better balance of life and work.

With the Great Resignation trend, millions of Americans quit their jobs, seeking better, more well-paying jobs with upside growth opportunities. The vaccine mandate may have caused internal tensions, providing a rationale for people to leave, feeling it’s better somewhere else.

When this occurs, management needs to replace the departing employee. In a hot war-for-talent job market, it’s not an easy task, taking three to six months or longer to find, recruit, onboard and train a new employee.

Within this context, understandably, workers and management alike are dealing with feeling tired, frustrated, burned out, mental health and emotional well-being issues. Any additional burdens placed upon people adds to their already-stressful days.

Source: Forbes