Cross-sectional study of the association between perceived organizational support and COVID-19 vaccine intention

Objectives: This study examined the association between perceived organizational support (POS) and COVID-19 vaccine intention and the influence of the implementation of workplace infection prevention measures. Methods: We analyzed 23,846 workers using data from an Internet survey of workers aged 20-65 years conducted in December 2020, during a period of widespread COVID-19 infection in Japan. Results: A higher POS was associated with a higher intention to vaccinate. The relationship between POS and vaccine intention was attenuated when adjusted for infection prevention measures in the workplace. Conclusions: In workplaces where POS is present, a sense of responsibility to the group and altruistic behavior may arise. This means employees act to acquire herd immunity to protect others, which may result in increased vaccine intention. The association between POS and vaccination intention was attenuated by adjusting for workplace infection prevention measures, which suggested that infection prevention measures may be a confounding factor or that POS created a health climate that promoted infection prevention measures. The results suggest that working to improve employee well-being and implementing appropriate workplace infection prevention measures during infectious disease outbreaks may promote vaccination behavior and contribute to the acquisition of herd immunity in the community.