To Vaccinate or Not? The Dilemma of the Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner

Photo by Thirdman from Pexels

Photo by Thirdman from Pexels

Finally, the vaccination has arrived. In fact, at the time of this article, several have hit the market causing many to sigh with relief.

For others, though, the arrival of the vaccinations is met with skepticism. With sporadic rollout and logistical challenges across the country, recent reports suggest that up to 50% of Americans don’t plan on getting the vaccination due to long-term side effects concerns. 


Decisions, decisions.


As a small business entrepreneur, the question remains: should you get the vaccine? Should you encourage your employees to get it? And what are the risks?

There are no easy answers in this discussion. It is easy to take a laissez-faire approach, but leading a team means more responsibility. Your team looks to you for guidance and the impact of your decisions carries much more weight, evoking feelings of frustration or anxiety for everyone. As the leader of your organization, it is important to present as much information as you can in a clear, comprehensive manner to your team.

Here are some ways to help you and your employees come to the best decision for yourselves:

Check credible websites. 

This is important. Do your research to ensure that you are not sharing websites that are opinion pieces and/or not grounded in science. The best place to start is the CDC and your state websites. Make sure this information is easily accessible to your team.

If possible, invite an expert (MD) to speak to your team. 

At first, this might sound like an expensive route. But, right now these resources are available via Zoom for free or small honorarium. If you are not sure where to look, first check in with your local chamber of commerce who may either be offering workshops and/or can connect you to organizations who are.

Meet with your team as a group and individually. 

It is very important that your messaging is clear and concise. Confidently talk to them about their fears and concerns. This is also a time to be transparent about your own concerns and the decisions you have made. You are not required by law to share this information, and you can’t make your employee share confidential information, but you do want to offer an explanation for your decision - whichever one that may be. 

Be supportive and confidential. 

There is a thin line between health promotion and violating one’s confidentiality. It is never okay to create an environment that makes anyone on your team feel coerced, pressured, or singled out. Although now we talk about Covid-19 and the vaccination like we talk about the weather, this conversation is still protected under privacy laws. It is important to be mindful that, although you can mandate your team to get the vaccine (with some exclusions via the American Disabilities Act and religious reasons), is that the direction you want to take? Are you willing to risk having some of your employees walk away if you do?

In this dynamic time, sometimes it may feel like there are more questions than answers, but it is important to stay informed and create space for your team members to review information and have discussions. This will help you minimize the anxiety and uncertainty for your team that has impacted all of us for this past year.

Full disclosure, I did decide to get the vaccination and I have encouraged my team to as well.



tamika Stewart