A majority of U.S. companies (63%) said that they would require employees to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, and 65% said that they would offer employees incentives to get vaccinated, according to a survey of 957 businesses across 24 industries by Arizona State University and the Rockefeller Foundation. What’s more, over 40% said that unvaccinated employees would be barred from returning to the workplace and 35% said they would consider disciplinary action against those employees, including firing them. Most U.S. employers (66%) also said that they will allow their employees to work from home until at least the end of the year and 73% will offer flexible arrangements.
That being said, 73% also said they expected their employees to work in the office for 20 hours or more per week. Many employees expressed reluctance about returning to in-person work, however, with 47% saying that they would not want to return to the office at all until the whole workforce gets vaccinated. According to study co-author Mara G. Aspinall of Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions, “People want to get back to normal, but they want to do it in a safe way.”