About 71% of employers have said they plan to encourage employees to get vaccinated before returning to the workplace, but will not require it, according to a survey conducted by Gartner, Inc.
“Mandating vaccination is a complex decision from a legal perspective,” explains Chris Audet, senior director in Gartner’s Legal and Compliance practice.
“Any decision to mandate will be dependent on business necessity and must account for exceptions. In some cases, requiring the vaccine may be a strategic decision to create a comparative advantage for the organization.”
In addition, 61% intend to provide resources to employees on where and how to get vaccinated, approximately half said they will create an internal communications campaign on the benefits and subsidize the costs of the vaccine for employees.
Most organizations are not considering mandating vaccinations for their employees because there are many difficulties with doing so, Gartner points out.
The privacy burden of collecting and storing such medical information is beyond the scope of what most organizations are equipped to handle, it notes. The procedural challenges associated with tracking vaccination status also are considerable.
“For now, most organizations don’t see the benefits of mandating vaccination as outweighing its potential costs,” Audet observes. “Even tracking who has had a vaccine has many challenges, so the majority of respondents are not planning on that step either.”
Of the employers surveyed, 53% said they had no plans to track who in their workforce received the vaccine, while a quarter of respondents said they will ask employees to self-report their vaccination status but will not require proof.
Only 6% of the respondents said they plan to require employees to show proof of vaccination before they return to work.