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The vaccine mandate was not handled well.

Software Engineer
Former Employee
Worked at IBM for 6 years
July 10, 2024
Rochester, Minnesota
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

Free snacks for employees. Some renovations are being done of run-down areas.

Cons

The company played a dangerous game of chicken with its employees over the vaccine mandate.

The unvaxxed had to file an exemption by a certain date and get it approved. However, the approval process took longer than that date.

They were allowed to continue working, but they never knew if their exemption would be approved.

IBM was also working on building a vaccine passport system. They allowed vaxxed people to come to work, but the unvaxxed had to stay home.

This caused a lot of hand-wringing and encouraged an us vs. them mentality.

Advice to Management

I know you have to comply with regulations, but you could have simply had a rubber-stamping process for vaccine exemptions. We lost a lot of good people.

Additional Ratings

Work/Life Balance
4.0
Culture and Values
1.0
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
1.0
Career Opportunities
4.0
Compensation and Benefits
2.0
Senior Management
1.0

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