This summary is provided by the IPR Organizational Communication Research Center based on the original study.
Dr. Weiting Tao and colleagues examined how workplace dialogic communication about COVID-19 vaccination influenced employees’ intention to advocate for the vaccine to people in their personal and professional networks. Workplace dialogic communication requires open exchange of information, thoughts, and feelings between employees and managers. To be dialogic, employees and managers show mutual respect and understanding of each other’s viewpoints and engage in open, honest, and ethical communication.
A survey of 505 full-time employees working across various industries in the United States was conducted in July 2021.
Key Findings
— The more dialogic an organization was in communicating COVID-19 vaccination with its employees, the more supportive the organization was perceived in supporting employees’ vaccination and related concerns.
— The more dialogic an organization was in communicating COVID-19 vaccination with its employees, the more positive emotions and less negative emotions that the employee felt about getting vaccinated.
— Perceived organizational support for employee vaccination was found to promote positive emotions and reduce negative emotions among employees regarding vaccination.
— An increase in positive emotions and a decrease in negative emotions about COVID-19 vaccination likely enhanced employees’ intention to advocate for the vaccination within and outside their workplace.
Implications for Practice
Organizations are encouraged to engage in open, honest, and ethical dialogues and conversations with employees when making decisions and implementing policies related to COVID-19 vaccination. They should encourage employees to freely voice their thoughts and concerns regarding the vaccination and actively respond to and address those diverse viewpoints with respect and empathy. Such dialogic communication is likely helpful in motivating employees to be ambassadors and advocates for their organizations’ vaccination initiatives and thus promote workplace health.
Learn how to practice workplace dialogic communication to promote employee vaccine advocacy during pandemics
Tao, W., Lee, Y., Li, J. Y., & He, M. (2022). How dialogic vaccine communication in the workplace facilitates employee advocacy for COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Journal of Public Relations Research. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2022.2150624
