America has always been a nation that thrives on the innovation of its entrepreneurs, the insights of its thinkers, and the inspiration of its artists. However, time and again, it's the frontline workforce that stands as the backbone of the nation, ensuring its steady march forward. 

“Can you cover tomorrow’s shift for so-and-so?”

Read 7:12 PM.

No response.

Many working Americans report experiencing a negative emotional response to the end of the weekend and personal freetime as the “Sunday Scaries”–an anxious feeling about the work week ahead that cuts into the final hours of off-the-clock bliss. But, perhaps the only thing worse to interrupt an employee’s time off work is receiving unexpected or poorly timed messages from their employer.  

Let's face it: organizations crave high engagement levels from their frontline employees but are often short of ideas on exactly how to accomplish this. 

Take a moment to think about your favorite job that you've ever had. Most likely, one of the reasons that this job was meaningful to you was because of the relationships that you had with your employer and your fellow employees. When we feel valued at the workplace, our work feels more meaningful. 

Now more than ever, it is important that employees feel valued at the workplace. One way to accomplish this is through employee recognition.

As Dr. Bob Nelson says, “Take time to appreciate employees and they will reciprocate in a thousand ways.” 

Employee engagement is one of the most important indicators in gauging satisfaction in work. This is especially true amongst Front Line Workers. People are looking for more than just a 9-to-5 job these days. They crave to be involved in their work, and want to be enthusiastic about the organization they work for and to be committed to those they work with.

Communication in the workplace has changed drastically over the last decade — most notably, in the previous few years, thanks to the pandemic. 

During the pandemic, the world learned that frontline workers are the backbone of our economy as we watched them leave jobs en masse. Now we know that if organizations want to succeed, they need to improve interpersonal communication for all employees, not just those who occupy a desk.

Despite making up 80% of the global workforce, frontline employees have consistently been excluded from company-wide communication. But, thanks to an influx of much-needed HR technology, things are changing. 

Communicating effectively with a large team of desk-less workers has its challenges. But the pandemic did an excellent job of highlighting just how critical frontline workers are to a company's success. And the mass job walkouts have taught us that frontline employees are no longer interested in being treated like second-class workers. 

If there is one thing employers have learned over the past few years, it's the critical role frontline staff play in the economy's stability. Frontline workers came to realize their value, as well.

Sara Reinhardt shares her favorite things about working for Tupelo Honey.