Latest post on corporate culture by Virtas Partners co-founders Neal McNamara and Tim Czmiel
The divisive trend toward compulsory COVID vaccination in the workplace is causing consternation among those who for reasons of their own personal choice do not want to be vaccinated—and among the larger number of people who do not think employers should be dictating personal medical decisions. The sheriff of Los Angeles County recently announced he would not enforce the county’s strict COVID vaccination mandate given his expectation that as many as 10 percent of the 18,000 employees in his agency would resign over the mandate. And in Chicago, the police union is at a stand-off with the mayor over the issue of forced vaccinations. In the private sector, Southwest Airlines has scrapped its plan to put on unpaid leave employees who have applied for but haven’t yet received a religious or medical exemption to the Biden administration requirement that employees of federal contractors be vaccinated by Dec. 8. Still, many firms are determined to go ahead with COVID vaccination mandates seemingly without concern for the repercussions within their workforces.
Now the Biden Administration has announced that all businesses with 100 or more employees must ensure that their workers are either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or that they test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week. States and organizations are expected to file lawsuits against this new requirement.
We don’t believe it is right for an organization to force its employees to have the vaccine put into their bodies for their own protection. What does it say about a corporate culture where employees are required to do something medically regardless of what those employees think? As a firm with less than 100 employees, we certainly won’t be requiring our people to get vaccinated.
Unquestionably, some firms are going to lose talented people because of the vaccination mandates. And when good people leave, it impacts everyone—including those who remain and must carry on without the help of their trusted, capable colleagues. Yet, it would appear that many firms care more about being aligned with the politically correct movement of the moment than what is truly best for their people. We know this to be the case directly with organizations we and our people have worked with in the past.
This is just the latest manifestation of coercive, controlling corporate culture seen in the recent trend toward compulsory group-think that can lead to bullying against those who hold different views. Many large firms are requiring employees to attend workshops and training sessions ostensibly to combat injustice toward minority populations, but that also include numerous lessons and platitudes that belittle employees within the majority. Addressing discrimination with reverse discrimination against a whole class of people is divisive and counter-productive, but proponents are undeterred. The re-education wave sweeping corporate America grows stronger because employees will object only when they can do so anonymously or must cower in silence for fear of officially sanctioned retribution.
Where tolerance was once seen as a virtue, intolerance to dissent is viewed as the moral high ground, leading to shaming of those who do value fairness and equity of opportunity but bristle at the new vocabulary and policies that openly attack those with majority status. Undoubtedly, we all should be working to foster workplace cultures where people truly listen to each other with mutual respect and dignity. But do acrimonious training sessions really help us to get there?
Coercive policies on matters of personal choice and compulsory group-think don’t belong in a healthy corporate environment. Over time, the silent backlash against the growing infringement of employee rights and their ability to think freely will lead to a talent drain at these firms. Individuals who want to work in truly respectful environments where “the content of their character” (in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) is valued above all will look elsewhere for opportunity.
Virtas Partners is a meritocracy and we still believe in and champion virtues (as our name would indicate). We truly value our people for who they are, the quality of their work product and how they contribute to the overall success of our clients and of our firm. We don’t expect each person to think exactly as we do. In fact, we believe a rich diversity of thoughts and ideas is essential to any team’s success – and this has been proven out in our success. This culture has drawn amazingly talented people to our team and we will continue to be an alternative in the market for talented professionals who are looking to escape the rigid conformity and other toxic cultural elements at many firms today.