Business Called On to Help End the Pandemic

Companies and others must prepare for new mandates

Recently, President Joe Biden announced vaccine and testing requirements for federal employees and contractors, employers with more than 100 employees, many healthcare workers and large event venues. Since then, companies – and many employees – have embraced the mandates, and vaccination rates are rising. In our latest reputation advisory, we encourage clients to:

  • Regularly communicate to employees what is expected of them as part of the implementation of vaccine requirements.
  • Address – don’t overlook – worker stress and mental health.
  • Acknowledge potential employee concerns around vaccine mandates. 

This counsel was informed by the findings of our latest public opinion survey with KRC Research, conducted before the White House’s announcement, which found:

Bipartisan support for employer mandates

– 78% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans, and 48% of Independents.

Strong support from workers for employer measures to control the spread

– 66% of workers said their employer has the right to mandate that employees be vaccinated, or show a negative COVID test, to come into the workplace.

Belief that business plays an important role in ending the pandemic

– According to 80% of Americans and 59% of employees, up from 75% and 47%, respectively, in our May survey. 63% of Americans say business plays a “very important” role, up 16 points since May.

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