“No jab, No job”: Employee Perceptions on Mandatory Coronavirus Vaccinations at Workplace in Zimbabwe.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue III, March 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

“No jab, No job”: Employee Perceptions on Mandatory Coronavirus Vaccinations at Workplace in Zimbabwe.

Regis Muchowe¹, Dumisani Mawonde² and Hazel Mubango^3
1 Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe
^2,3 Women’s University in Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract:-The inspiration behind this article is the prevalence of Covid-19 policies in organizations in Zimbabwe which are dominated by ‘no jab, no job’ policies during the third wave of the pandemic. The article seeks to parade the perceptions and attitudes of employees across all sectors in Zimbabwe on ‘no jab, no job’ policies, and mandatory vaccinations at the workplace. In probing the problem at hand, the researcher used quantitative methodologies to generate data from a sample size of one thousand and two hundred respondents (n = 1 200). In deriving employee perceptions the study observed that 82.5% of study respondents had at least received a first dose jab. The article displays that enterprises across Zimbabwe have Covid -19 policies, and a number of them enforce the ‘no jab, no job’ pinnacle. The last section of the article transmits that employees in Zimbabwe are opposed to the ‘no jab, no job’ policy, and there is a general belief that it is unethical and illegal. There is a general belief that mandatory vaccinations lead to poor industrial relations and reduced productivity. There is an urgent need for employers to educate employees on the need for vaccination in order to demystify circulating conspiracy theories.

Key Terms: Vaccination, Coronavirus, Workplace, mandatory vaccinations

1.0 Introduction

Covid -19 pandemic has undoubtedly transmuted geo-politics, social behaviour and economic activities in the whole world. Anyone who denies the impact of Covid -19 pandemic must be living under a rock. Novel Coronavirus was first discovered in November 2019, in the Wuhan province in China (World Health Organisation, 2020). By March 2020 Covid -19 virus had been confirmed as a pandemic (Balkhair, 2020). As of July 2021, there has been above two hundred million cases and above four million deaths due to the pandemic (Worldometer, 2021). In Africa, around seven million people have been infected by the Novel Coronavirus, and over a hundred and seventy nine thousand people have perished from it (Malomo, 2021). According to Worldometer (2021) about a hundred and eighteen thousand people had been infected with the virus, and above four thousand people had died. Faced with this dilemma most countries enforced a ban on social gatherings and demanded the decongestion of workplaces.
The economic morass followed by the breakthroughs in the discovery of vaccines compelled countries to revise their stance, and ordered firms to allow particularly the vaccinated employees back at work. Zimbabwe was not immune to these, and by 12 August 2021 the country had administered over three million doses of vaccinations with Sinovac and Sinopharm being the major vaccines taken (Trading Economics, 2021). This was one of the strides of achieving a herd immunity, and employees in most sectors of the economy were prioritised in the distribution of vaccines, and this has been seen as psychological and or invisible golden handcuffs to organisations to institute ‘no jab, no job’ policies.
In the United States, Gur-Arie, Jamrozik, & Kingori (2021) observe that the health care sector is prioritised in terms of vaccination, and with a goal for mandatory vaccinations. They express that mandatory vaccinations in pro-democracy nations are unethical and illegal as they infringe the freedom of choice which is at the heart of the socio-political principles. In addition, Kaiser Permanente a large American health care conglomerate has given an ultimatum to its employees to get vaccinated by end of September 2021 (Heath, 2021). Disney on the other hand ordered its non-unionised workers, and Walmart also required its office workers to get vaccinated (Heath, 2021). The geo-political influence of USA had set the tone for other countries to emulate the ‘no jab, no job’ policies. The Fiji government also announced plans to coerce all employees regardless of job level, to be fully vaccinated (Dyer, 2021). This positions it to be one of the strictest countries in terms of the ‘no jab, no job’ policies.

Read More