PROVO, Utah — Millions of employees who work at companies with 100 or more people will need to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 4 or be tested for the virus weekly, but how well will this mandate be followed?
That's the question posed in research by Qualtrics, an experience management company with headquarters in Provo and Seattle.
OSHA (the Occuapational Safety and Health Administration) issued the vaccine and testing requirement on November 4, but its intention to do so was known for months.
“The time to watch and wait on vaccine mandates is over. The Biden Administration has started the clock—and now it’s up to company leaders to quickly implement the new standards with as little disruption as possible," said Sydney Heimbrock, Chief Industry Advisor for Government at Qualtrics.
They found mixed results among employees regarding their agreement with the policy and whether they would take steps to help enforce it.
Among their findings are the following:
55% of employees say they will consider reporting a coworker to OSHA for violating a vaccine mandate
31% of employees don’t think their company will actively enforce federal vaccine requirements
49% of people are confident that the federal government will effectively enforce a vaccine requirement for private businesses while 23% are not confident at all
58% of employees support the executive order mandating vaccinations in the workplace
“Vaccine mandates are politically polarizing and have become an emotional issue for employees and their families. That’s why leading with empathy will be key to creating the environment of trust and mutual understanding we need to successfully navigate this new workplace challenge,” said Heimbrock.
