COVID-19 “Passports” and the Safe Return to Work: Consideration for HR Professionals on How to Navigate This New Responsibility

Abstract

Organizations worldwide are racing to create policies, processes, and actions to ensure the safe return to work in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Verifying, collating, and sharing data on COVID-19 test and vaccination status has been a key part of this, supported by employee-held digital certificates often referred to as “vaccine” passports. Since ensuring the safety and well-being of employees is a key remit of Human Resource (HR) departments, HR professionals have had a central role in managing these changes, even more so in the context of government vaccine mandates. This chapter examines sociotechnical considerations for HR professionals managing these new demands. It draws on an analysis of key dialogues within the HR community published in grey literature, interpreted through the lens of the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, adapted for the context of COVID-19. By examining the state-of-the-art and proposing recommendations it aims to assist HR managers to facilitate employees’ safe return to work while navigating this complex issue and minimizing any potential negative impact on employees’ safety, well-being, performance, or engagement. Although vaccine passports may not be a permanent feature of the work environment, we believe this chapter still makes important theoretical and practical contributions. It fills a gap in the evidence on HR professionals’ perspectives on HR management during public health emergencies and discusses emergent HR capabilities that could prove useful in a future pandemic. Finally, it suggests an agenda for research going forward.

Appendix 1: List of Qualifying Pulse Articles, Comments and Articles Identified Via Google

Qualifying LinkedIn Pulse articles

Article title	Article date	Author	Author’s LinkedIn headline	Author’s affiliation
Will being vaccinated against COVID-19 become a requirement of employment?	May 14, 2021	Kelly Bater	HR Consultant Specializing in People Strategy and People Management in SME’s	K Bater Consultancy Ltd
HR & COVID-19 Vaccination: The Carrots Seem to Have It Over the Sticks	January 31, 2021	Jake Kuehn	HR and Employee Benefits Professional	JAK Consulting
Can My Employer Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines?	January 26, 2021	Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.	President & CEO, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), Board Director	Society for Human Resource Management

Qualifying LinkedIn comments

#	Comment	Author’s LinkedIn headline	Pulse article date
1	“Thank you for this article. It provides clarity and legal precedent on the mandatory vaccination debate, an issue that is fractioning many sectors of society and has pitted employer against employee, citizen against state and family members against siblings”	Human Resource Consultant	August 19, 2021
2	“It was only a matter of time. There are many businesses who no doubt panicked and made similar decisions early on. I know that we worked hard with clients to ensure that they were fully informed and seeking advice from experts such as yourself before making rash decisions. Let’s hope we don’t hear about too many of these. Thanks for sharing”	Director—People, Culture and Operations	May 10, 2020
3	“Love these predictions, especially the ones that took into account COVID’s influence on the industries and people. But I guess we can never be sure of what’s to come, this year was the biggest example of the uncertainties we’re dealing with and the infinite ‘might be’s’”	Well-being Advocator | HR Operations Expert | HRBP | Culture Writer	December 09, 2020
4	“Thank you for a great read. As an HR professional this article totally resonates with me. CSR is so important in forming the foundation on which company values are built, and I certainly consider these when selecting a future employer or product to purchase”	Open to New opportunities in Human Resources, Senior HRBP, HRBP, Human Resources Director, Head of People	September 21, 2020

Qualifying articles identified via Google

Title	Link	Author	Date	Source
HRE’s number of the day: Growing vaccine mandates	https://hrexecutive.com/hres-number-of-the-day-growing-vaccine-mandates/	Kathryn Mayer	October 6, 2021	Human Resource Executive
Employers React to Workers Who Refuse a COVID-19 Vaccination	https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/if-workers-refuse-a-covid-19-vaccination.aspx	Allen Smith, J.D., Lisa Nagele-Piazza, J.D., SHRM-SCP	December 9, 2021	SHRM
COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates: What Employees Are Thinking About a Return to the Workplace	https://www.paychex.com/articles/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine-mandate-return-to-work	N/A	May 11, 2021	Paychex Work