Largest Wall Street Bank Bans Business Travel For Unvaccinated Employees

This also includes those unwilling to state their vaccination status. 

And from now on, all employees in client-facing roles must be vaccinated. Which suggests that this is becoming the norm for high profile businesses and brands. JL

Suzanne Kelleher reports in Forbes:

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, will restrict business travel and in-person client events for U.S. employees who are unvaccinated or unwilling to disclose their vaccination status. “Clients are increasingly asking us to ensure meetings are restricted to vaccinated employees,” the bank wrote in an internal company memo. Moving forward, new JPMorgan employees in client-facing roles that require travel must also get vaccinated.
JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, will restrict business travel and in-person client events for U.S. employees who are unvaccinated or unwilling to disclose their vaccination status, reports Reuters.

“Clients are increasingly asking us to ensure meetings are restricted to vaccinated employees,” the bank wrote in an internal company memo on Monday. Moving forward, new JPMorgan employees in client-facing roles that require travel must also get vaccinated.

That position aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recommends delaying travel until fully vaccinated, “because travel increases your chance of getting and spreading Covid-19.” 

Like some other major banks, JPMorgan has urged its employees to get their Covid-19 shots and requires mask-wearing in the office. But it has yet to mandate vaccines.

Dangling business travel may prove to be an effective carrot to incentivize more unvaccinated employees to get their shots.

After nearly two years of drastically curtailed work-related travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, many executives across all industries are enthusiastic about returning to business trips for both professional and personal reasons. In a recent SAP Concur survey, a whopping 96% of respondents said they are willing to travel for business over the next 12 months, including 65% who are very willing.

Just over two thirds (68%) of would-be business travelers are encouraging their employers to let them return to taking trips for work, while the remaining third says their company is requiring them to travel.

Four in five respondents worry that unless they increase business travel this year, their professional (80%) lives will suffer. Top concerns include the ability to make and maintain business contacts (45%), making less money (38%), and not advancing in their career (33%).

Interestingly, an equal fraction of respondents (80%) are concerned that not traveling for work will hurt their personal lives. Top personal reasons for business travel include making personal connections (54%), experiencing new places (52%), and taking a break from their everyday life (41%).

Significant others may also be a motivating factor. In the SAP Concur survey, one in 10 respondents (11%) say that their partner wants them out of the house.