Image by Angelo Esslinger from Pixabay
New research has found that almost three quarters of the casual workers in Australia believe their employers have a right to ask staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The study of 500 casual workers carried out by workforce management platform Humanforce also found 70 percent of those surveyed are more likely to be vaccinated if it’s recommended by their employer.
This, researchers believe, highlights the important role employers play in reducing hesitancy around being vaccinated.
The study found that 67 percent of respondents had been concerned about their health in the workplace during Covid, which is why they wanted to be vaccinated. However, 24 percent were still undecided on being vaccinated and 12 percent said they did not intend to have the jab.
Humanforce CEO, Clayton Pyne, said there has been much discussion as to whether certain employers would move towards mandatory vaccinations in a bid to speed up the country’s economic recovery.
“Given the scale of disruption the pandemic has caused for so many workplaces across Australia, there was a lot of talk, even prior to the vaccine arriving in Australia and being rolled out, about whether workplaces would make it mandatory for staff to be vaccinated,” he said.
“Many employer groups have publicly advocated for businesses to be able to direct staff towards being vaccinated to help avoid future outbreaks and workplace disruptions. Most casual workers are clearly supportive of this, which is a positive finding for safe workplaces and business continuity in 2021.”
Interestingly, 79 percent of casual workers indicated that they would prefer it if their colleagues were vaccinated, which was higher than the number who said they would get the vaccine themselves.
A high number (67 percent) were also supportive of their employers requiring customers and visitors to the workplace to show they had been vaccinated.
“It’s very apparent that casual workers are concerned about Covid-19 and their health at work, and that they expect their employers to step in and take charge of protecting them and others while in the workplace,” added Pyne.
“That’s why employers must now ensure they are prioritising the fine-tuning of their organisation’s position on vaccines.
Engaging casual workers early on is vital in clearly communicating with them your organisation’s position, as well as expectations of them and others when it comes to [receiving] the vaccine.”