68 Percent of Small-to Medium Businesses Are Mandating Covid Vaccination

Businesses increasingly appear to recognize that unvaccinated workers could disrupt an enterprise's economic recovery so are mandating vaccination. 

Even in the politically conservative and vaccine resistant southern US states, 56% are mandating vaccination for employees. JL

Venture Beat reports:

Where 68% of respondents in the US have plans to mandate a vaccine. Northeastern and Mountain states have the highest percentages of companies planning to mandate vaccines (82% and 80% respectively); while within southern states  (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, WV) the number drops to 56.1%. More than three quarters of respondents are rethinking plans to return to the office (52.4% of U.S. respondents are currently rethinking their plans to return to the office and an additional 17.1% have already delayed “work in the office” start dates). Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are continuing to adjust their policies as new COVID-19 cases surge due to the Delta variant. 

A recent survey by JumpCloud of 500 US and UK executives indicates that SMEs are prepared to deal with uncertainty over the long-term and are deploying a variety of responses. More than three quarters of respondents are rethinking plans to return to the office (In just the US, 52.4% of U.S. respondents are currently rethinking their plans to return to the office and an additional 17.1% have already delayed “work in the office” start dates).

There are also pronounced regional differences to evolving Covid responses. Where 68% of respondents in the US have plans to mandate a vaccine, this number drops to 57% in the UK. Within the US itself, Northeastern and Mountain states have the highest percentages of companies planning to mandate vaccines (82% and 80% respectively); while within southern states  (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, WV) the number drops to 56.1%.

Beyond vaccines, companies are changing their return-to-work plans. 59.2% are requiring social distancing in the workplace, 57.4% are limiting the number of people in the workspace at one time, 54.3% are requiring masks or PPE, and 41.9% are upgrading air filters or HVAC equipment.

In the US, most companies are remaining flexible about when workers will return to the office. Of those who have delayed a return to the office, 30% are delaying a return to the office until September; 16.3% are delaying until October; 18.8% are delaying until November or later; and 35% don’t yet have a firm timeline.

This survey was conducted by cloud directory platform provider JumpCloud and Propeller Insights in August, 2021. The survey included 502 SME decision-makers in the U.S. and U.K from companies with fewer than 2,500 employees.