Returning to the office

Can employers mandate vaccinations and ask worker's about their vaccine status? Also, was remote, flexible work just a pandemic anomaly?

Listen 49:29
(photo credit, Big Stocks)

(photo credit, Big Stocks)

After more than a year, many workplaces are beginning to call their employees back to the office. To some this is welcome news. They are happy to get away from the kitchen workstation and back with colleagues. But others will miss remote work’s flexibility, are dreading the daily commute and are nervous about COVID risk. We start the hour looking at how employers are handling COVID safety at the office and the legal issues it raises. Can private companies require vaccinations? Can they ask about vaccine status? Drexel University’s ROBERT FIELD explains what the law says about worker and employer rights during a pandemic. Then, many American workers say their priorities have shifted during the pandemic and work/life balance is more important than ever. But are bosses listening? We’ll talk about what has worked over the past year and what expectations employees now have as they return. Boston University organizational psychologist CONSTANCE HADLEY and Harvard management professor AMY EDMONDSON, author of The Fearless Organization, join us.

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