As vaccination rates ramp up in the DMV, the road ahead remains complicated for employers. Eagle Hill Consulting research finds that Washington, D.C. Metro area employees have strong views on workplace issues including workplace re-openings, COVID-19 vaccination requirements and proof, and what to do about unvaccinated employees. Local employee sentiment is substantially different than national polling, with substantially higher support among Washingtonians for vaccine mandates and proof.
This polling is important for employers in the DMV working to determine the protocols for returning to the workplace. The vast majority of workers see vaccine mandates and vaccination proof as important to workplace safety. And despite the CDC’s new guidelines on masks and social distancing, workers still want employers involved in encouraging safety precautions.
– Melissa Jezior, President & CEO, Eagle Hill Consulting
Washington, D.C. area employees have substantially different views than their national counterparts on employer COVID-19 vaccination response
Most Washington, D.C. area workers say employers should require proof of vaccination.
Nearly 3 in 4 Washington, D.C. area workers think employers should require employee
vaccination.
Almost 2/3 of Washington, D.C. area workers want employers to provide incentives to encourage vaccination.
Washington, D.C. area workers anticipate that their workplace will be different when they return
When asked about the disruption of COVID-19 on the workplace:
60%
expect the number of people working from home at any given time will be different
51%
expect their physical workplace will be different
50%
expect people will be working further apart
Washington, D.C. area workers are split on how to manage unvaccinated employees
When asked what employers should allow employees who chose not to get vaccinated to do:
50%
say unvaccinated employees should not be given special allowances to work from home
52%
say unvaccinated employees should be not allowed to work in-person with co-workers
79%
say unvaccinated employees should be able to stay with their employer
Washington, D.C. area employees want their employers to play an active role in workplace safety
When asked about the role employers should play with COVID-19 precautions now that vaccines are widely available, there was broad support for employer involvement.
85%
Social distance
84%
Wear masks
78%
Have their
temperature checked
67%
COVID-19 testing before entering workplace
The 2021 Eagle Hill Consulting Washington, D.C. Metro Area Vaccines and the Workplace Survey measures employee sentiment about COVID-19 vaccines, returning to the workplace, as well as testing and safety protocols. Conducted by Ipsos from May 12-17, 2021, this survey includes 530 respondents from a random sample of employees in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area – the District of Columbia and portions of Maryland and Virginia. The Eagle Hill polling was fielding as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated adults can safely resume activities indoors or outdoors without masks or distancing.
