Are HR teams forcing employees to choose between getting vaccinated and keeping their jobs?
By Sanéa A. Pinkney
Due to COVID-19, many employees were able to work remotely from home as first responders, and essential employees reported to work as scheduled. Additionally, some had only a brief temporary break from daily commuting to work until everything calmed down. Some may have had the opportunity to telework pre-COVID. There was also a group that teleworked on specific days weekly or sporadically. Finally, some employees were only able to telework due to COVID-19, and for this period they were grateful. Gratitude is probably a mild term for the level of appreciation that most people felt who were still able to be safe at home, maintain their jobs, and not have to worry about choosing safety or employment. Especially since these essential employees and first responders kept things afloat enabling, those who did not have to leave home to work to receive the necessities to get through a very difficult time. Yet some were happy they did not work in the type of industry that did not provide the telework safety net.
The vaccine(s) have made it possible for people to come closer than the remaining 6 feet apart. Mask mandates lessen or don’t exist in some geographic locations. Social and physical distancing seems to no longer be a priority. Many organizations are creating and revising telework agreements. Additionally, they are changing employee designations to determine the roles that require on-site presence versus those that don’t. Even still, many questions the roles that do not require their physical return, and why it is necessary to be there when they were doing just fine teleworking. During the pandemic, some also took advantage to work from different states and even countries that may not have had this level of flexibility previously. As these decisions are being considered, the rationale does not necessarily explain why the return to work is so critical for all employees. Even when employee buy-in has not been solicited and everyone is not comfortable returning, therefore; it may not make sense. Many questions permeate the minds of those individuals who have to choose between getting vaccinated and keeping their jobs. Some will submit COVID-19 vaccine religious or medical exemption requests and hope for them to be granted. The concern and fears are extremely serious, leaving employees left wondering if leaders are as concerned as those don’t possess the same level of autonomy based on their titles.
Additionally does the decision to return employees to work who hold positions that do not require in person attendance, implies an idea of mistrust and a lack of emotional intelligence. Some of the questions that come to mind are:
Employee Performance
- Is the desire to return non-client-facing employees to work based on the loss of productivity or efficiency during the last 15 plus months?
- Were employee deadlines not met?
- Did morale diminish?
- Are some of the employees required to return to work not credible or trustworthy enough to continue?
- What about those who took on more responsibility, are they not able to continue optimum performance from home?
Senior Leadership
- Are leaders convinced that having their direct reports in the office necessary for them to meet goals?
- Could this return to work create an illusion of performance because the employee is visible?
- Are leaders concerned about the (emotional, mental, physical, social) paralyzing impacting effects that employees may encounter as a result?
- Have leaders considered the pros and cons of this decision?
- Senior leaders who have determined the need for return to work discovered this need based on what?
- Is leadership concerned about how their department would look if their staff do not return to work?
- What are the drivers of the decision?
Balancing Work/Life
- What about work/life balance, some have been able to do this better during COVID?
- Is there concern about the family structure of these employees?
- Separation anxiety of children who have been home with their parents while they teleworked? What about the children who now have their parents resuming their late hours at work and traveling home because they are back in the office?
- How will those households adjust to “the return to the office transition”?
- Will the transition of returning employees to work, include the flexibility that teleworking provided?
COVID-19 Exposure
- What about the concern of new variants of COVID-19?
- Will employees be exposed to it vaccination or not, PPE or not, if they return?
- How will the organization handle employees that work within environments with other stakeholders that are not vaccinated?
Fully embracing this privilege and taking advantage of the ability to perform work remotely has raised many of these questions. Telework has increased the hours in the day for many and as a result they accomplish so much more; professionally and personally. Additional advantages have been saving daily commuting, parking, and purchasing meal expenses therefore increasing some employee salaries. Individual quality time, self-care, and more attention on the household is also a benefit for being able to telework. When outside and entertainment desired distractions made us feel hollow, these were some of the only options we had and readily available. Various projects that were once put on hold due to lack of time such as cleaning, organizing, training, learning new skills, and a variety of other desires were accomplished while at home.
As business owners, HR representatives, and senior leadership staff, discussions have taken place regarding how transitioning “back to normal” would look, normalcy is a thing of the past for some employees. Considering the individual needs of everyone and undertanding that priorities have also shifted, human capital is critical to organization success. The last year and a half, forced humanity to take appreciate little victories like having toilet paper, Lysol, disinfecting wipes, food and…telework. Items that did not have the same level of value pre COVID.
The pandemic also enabled us to recognize privilege, be empathetic, share information and utilize all resources appropriately. Freedoms and decisions that came easy, were now revoked and non-existent due to circumstances beyond our control. Adjustments needed to be made survival and gracefully we succeeded. Some didn’t make it and now, here “WE” are. How will we encourage the type of work/life balance that enables peak performance, manages expectation, solicits “real non-judgmental” feedback from the employees, and values the stakeholder’s interests? What level of performance will be expected once the routine of returning to work has taken place? What role does equity and fairness play when management styles and department cultures differ under the same system? These questions will be examined in the months to come and it is strongly recommended for us to seek answers.
Sanéa A. Pinkney is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Professional and the founder of The CVO Suite 347, an executive virtual office boutique.
