Survey data from the Partnership for New York City about reopening there – just 23% of Manhattan office workers have returned to their desk, nearly half of employers delayed their return due to Delta, 58% of companies that disclosed their vaccination policy plan to require that all employees are vaccinated for COVID-19, and 44% plan to require that all office guests are vaccinated.
An overwhelming majority of small businesses (78%) don’t require employees to show proof of vaccination, per the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest Small Business Pulse surveyout last week. But there was a steep jump in those who reported they are mandating vaccines for workers since the census last asked the question last month – up roughly 4 percent. (There’s a similar drop in the expectation of business travel, which had been trending upward.)
Envoy’s Return to Work survey gives similar insights — Forty-three percent of workers are increasingly worried about being exposed to COVID-19 and contracting the virus. Sixty percent of respondents would prefer to have vaccine mandates at work, but only 51% work at companies with this requirement in place.
And, Adobe’s Future of Time survey – 56% of SMB leaders say they are working longer hours than they would like, and 61% are feeling pressure to be reachable at all times of the day.
It’s that jump in vaccine mandates that intrigues me. Sure, four percent isn’t a ton… but it’s significant in upward movement, and it captures August right before the FDA approval. And this just as big companies are making their own moves.
We’re not done with COVID. Based on your own company, you’ll be setting policies and procedures that make sense. My guidance – any speed is arbitrary if the core metrics of the business are strong. However, I’ve linked to some data from Bloomberg – there’s correlation between reduced vaccination rates and slower economic recovery. That plays into a number of factors, of course, but this can be a data point for predicting the speed of recovery for you and your customers too.