According to a Sept. 1 press release from the London-based Willis Towers Watson, a multinational risk management, insurance brokerage, and advisory company, results from a recent survey suggest workplace vaccine mandates in the U.S. are expected to accelerate over the next several months.
The release states that “The survey, conducted between August 18 and 25, found that by the fourth quarter of 2021, over half (52 percent) of employers could have one or more vaccine mandate requirements in the workplace. These range from requiring vaccination for employees to access common areas such as cafeterias to requiring vaccination for a subset of employees to requiring vaccination for all employees. This is a dramatic increase from the current 21 percent. Specifically, nearly a third (29 percent) of employers are planning or considering making vaccination a requirement to gain access to the workplace, and almost a quarter (21 percent) are planning or considering vaccination as a condition of employment for all employees.”
Further, “Additionally, the number of employers that will track whether employees have completed their vaccination is increasing. Nearly six in 10 (59 percent) currently track their workers’ vaccination status, and another 19 percent are planning or considering doing so later this year. A majority (62 percent) of those require proof of vaccination, such as completed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards, while 36 percent rely on employees to self-report.”
Jeff Levin-Scherz, M.D., population health leader at Willis Towers Watson was quoted in the release saying that “The Delta variant has made employers take new actions to keep their workers—and workplaces—safe and healthy. We expect even more employers to institute vaccine mandates in the wake of FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine. This is not an easy situation for employers to navigate. For instance, new policies such as tracking workers’ vaccinations can improve safety but also bring additional administrative requirements. At the same time, employers will continue efforts to encourage vaccination and communicate regularly with employees.”
The release explains that nearly two in 10 organizations (17 percent) are offering financial incentives for getting vaccinated and 14 percent of respondents are considering doing so. The most common incentive is cash payments ranging from $100 to $199. Two percent of employers are currently offering discounts to vaccinated employees or imposing a surcharge and 18 percent are considering one or both tactics. According to the results, most employers are not planning or considering either of these approaches.
That said, “The survey identified the following actions companies are taking or considering as they rethink their reopening plans due to the Delta variant:
- Mask mandates: Eight in 10 respondents (80 percent) require employees to wear masks indoors at any location. Another 13 percent are planning or considering doing so.
- Tracing: Three in four employers (75 percent) use workplace exposure tracing to alert employees to a potential exposure. Another eight percent are planning or considering doing so.
- Return to normal: Nearly four in 10 employers (39 percent) now expect their organizations won’t reach a new normal in terms of returning to the workplace and ending pandemic-related policies and programs until the second quarter of 2022. About a quarter (26 percent) expect a return to the new normal in the first quarter of next year.”
The release says that a total of 961 U.S. employers participated in the “Summer 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination and Reopening the Workplace Survey” and respondents employ 9.7 million workers.
