More job listings require candidates to get their COVID-19 shots
If you're looking for a job, you may have to get a jab. With COVID-19 cases soaring again, more companies are implementing vaccine mandates for employees, including for new hires.
For example, starting September 30 all employees at Bonanno Concepts, a Denver, Colorado-based restaurant group, must get their shots.
"We have had 20% of our non-vaccinated employees — almost 20% — signed up to get vaccinated within 24 hours of us rolling out this policy," said Jessica Kinney, director of people for Bonanno Concepts.
Major corporations including United Airlines and Google are also requiring COViD-19 vaccinations for certain workers. And Delta Air Lines this week announced that unvaccinated workers on the company's health care plan will be subject to an additional $200 monthly fee.
Employers have been emboldened to take a harder line after the Food and Drug Administration this week fully approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. And the focus on getting vaccinated is increasingly part of the hiring process. Job postings on Indeed.com requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment are up 90% from July, according to the job-search company.
"This may potentially be the start of a trend that really takes off," Indeed economist AnnElizabeth Konkel told CBSN.
Vaccine mandates are most common in marketing, software development, education and sales roles. And for good reason: Employees seem to feel more comfortable working with colleagues who are inoculated.
Fifty-two percent of workers are in favor of workplace vaccine mandates, compared to just 38% who are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. Another poll, from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that of 59% of remote workers also support vaccine requirements in their workplaces, compared with 47% of those who are working in person. About one-quarter of workers — in person and remote — are opposed.
That suggests vaccine mandates could help companies attract job seekers — or deter potential candidates.
"Having everybody be vaccinated certainly alleviates that question of, 'Is this the right job for me?'" Konkel said.
