U.S. companies of all sizes in recent months have wrestled with developing policies over employees returning to the office. Senior executives and corporate boards have debated mandating Covid-19 vaccines for all employees, requiring regular tests for the unvaccinated, and limiting in-person office attendance to the vaccinated.
Some U.S. companies have decided on another option: allowing only vaccinated employees to travel for business. Some companies are also restricting attendance at important meetings to the vaccinated, according to Reuters.
Almost 20% of respondents to a July poll of travel buyers and procurement executives, by the Global Business Travel Association, indicated that their companies would require a vaccine before traveling for company business, and 40% of such respondents to another GBTA poll in Oct. indicated their companies would limit business travel “and/or” face-to-face client meetings to the vaccinated.
The late-summer spread of the delta variant of Covid-19, and the sharp rise in case counts, pushed many companies to quickly and drastically change the return-to-office plans developed just weeks prior. Office reunions were delayed, travel plans postponed, and in some cases, new regulations for unvaccinated employees were developed. Experts say those plans may change again, now that new Covid-19 case counts are on the decline in the U.S. Stay tuned.
Source: Business Travel News
