Staff at Activision Blizzard offices were notified of an impending change to internal Covid-19 vaccination policies at the company's head offices on Thursday, Mar. 31. Brian Bulatao, Chief Administrative Officer under Activision Blizzard, sent a company-wide email explaining the new workplace conditions, wherein specifically proof of vaccination is no longer being enforced.
It has no sooner become a wide sweeping effect over businesses set across the country as the ongoing Covid-19 crisis seemingly diminishes. Work from home conditions are slowly being phased out as in-office policies gear towards reenacting the traditional workplace standard felt before the pandemic's start in early 2020.
Bulatao himself relays these very same sentiments at the start of the email, highlighting how US Covid-19 cases are slowly diminishing and companies are now folding on in-office standards surrounding vaccinations. He writes, "Over the past several weeks, we've seen businesses and other indoor venues across the U.S. lift vaccine requirements, and we feel it is important to align our site protocols with local guidance."
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Although businesses are reshaping various policies around the workplace and Covid-19, it still doesn't address the fact that the vaccinations and boosters are not fully protective against every strain, which has been consistently evolving over time, witnessed via the now ever-rising count of Omicron BA.2 subvariant case numbers. China's Shanghai only recently went back into lockdown as a surge of cases arose, proving that the pandemic is still present despite its somewhat limited reach.
Activision Blizzard's altered in-office policies seem more than a bit hasty, especially in the eyes of its many employees. Critical reception and various outpourings of woe online prove once again that ActiBlizz's worst aspect is in its own internal ecosystem. Fears of potentially catching Covid-19 aren't the only base concerns for current employees, as those living with or who are immunocompromised are the most at risk and those who are disabled.
Despite the myriad concerns, Activision Blizzard is still trying to save face. Bulatao relayed in his email that the company "will continue to monitor the risks for Covid-19 in all areas where we operate." Given the changed procedures, Activision Blizzard is making all staff report their vaccination status, thus highlighting how best to potentially "pivot" if yet another "spike" arises.
However, this doesn't assist those in-office who are disabled or immunocompromised, thus making the vaccination protocol's alteration all the more disheartening for loyal staff members. Returning to work unknowing of the potential danger in coworkers not vaccinated is a terrifying thought, yet Activision Blizzard seems adamant about the change. The company stated that full in-office work would begin again in June.
