Mary Turlane did everything right during the pandemic. She stayed home to stay safe, she masked up and, most importantly, she got vaccinated. And now she’s paying for it – by being denied a promotion at work.
“I have the highest level of qualifications, a spotless record and am highly skilled at my work,” says Turlane, a certified public accountant. But she laments that every time she has applied for a promotion within one of America’s largest multinational corporations she has been turned down, only to see an unvaccinated co-worker be awarded the job.
“It’s not fair. There’s no difference between our personal health choices. I don’t understand how someone who followed all the rules and did everything right is being punished.”
And employer prejudice against the vaccinated is a growing trend according to human resource professionals like Jomar Richards. The HR specialist with UGotHired based in Chicago says 2023 is ‘opposite year’ for hiring.
“What these people don’t understand is that the ‘Compliance Employee’ days are over. With the economy in a recession companies want producers, people who make things happen through their own sheer will and determination. People who won’t buckle under pressure and are willing to go against the grain to achieve tangible goals,” says Richards.
The human resource guru points to the countless Americans who went through intense pressure and coercion over the last two and a half years to comply with various medical mandates imposed by governments and employers.
“These people don’t just follow orders blindly and accept the status quo. They think, they research. They are therefore the ones more likely to make the sale, close the deal and stick it out with loyalty until the job is done.”
The trend tracks with the move by employers to not even consider hiring anyone with weird pronouns in their resume and in dating, the ultimate ‘job interview’ where the unwoke and unvaccinated have their choice of jobs and romantic partnerships.
TESTING POSITIVELY UNSELF AWARE
Turlane, who has been on and off work due to Covid, stress, Long-Covid and a mild case of Bell’s Palsy, says she and her vaccinated co-workers used to sneer at the unvaccinated, but no more. “When they were sent home without pay we felt it was the right thing to do. After all, we were all in this together, right? So, we all knew who they were. Management even accidentally leaked a spreadsheet with their names. The thing is, now all those racist, misogynist, MAGA people are actually becoming our bosses!”
And the unvaccinated are now in demand by employers for other reasons as well. Richards continues that their outside the box leadership skills are hard to come by in “the woke, complacent workforce.” He cites the fact that the unvaccinated are generally healthier, more honest, and are more likely to do the right thing.
“Health care costs for workers are through the roof and employers are telling me that they are sick of paying people with the sniffles to stay home or pay for their repeated visits to cardiologists,” advises Richards.
THEY MADE THEIR CHOICE, NOW THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES
Turlane says that she can’t even get a new job as she’s been turned down based on her vaccine status at every company she’s applied to. The accountant with fifteen years experience even considered faking being not vaccinated. “That would be risky though, and I don’t like to take risks. Unless it’s job related of course and that’s what is expected of me. Uh. You’re not going to include that last part, are you?”
The vaccinated, like Turlane are finding it harder and harder to hide their medical history. “HR, the boss, and even the government now knows everyone’s vaccine status. People gave their private health information away without even thinking and now we’re feeling the pinch of being vaccinated.”
And boy does that pinch feel more like a jab!
