Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella talks about the importance of strengthening the connections between employees, a company’s mission, and their managers. Our research shows that the pandemic has strengthened some of these ties, while fraying others. 

To weather the storm, frontline workers have turned to each other. Seventy-six percent report that they “feel very bonded to co-workers” because of shared stresses brought on by the pandemic. But their connections to leadership and company culture are weak. Sixty-two percent of all frontline workers say that leadership does not prioritize building workplace culture—and that jumps to 68 percent for those in management positions on the frontline such as department heads, store managers, and shop-floor supervisors.

Furthermore, communication isn’t trickling down—or bubbling up. Sixty-three percent of all frontline workers say messages from leadership don’t make it to them. Things are especially trying for frontline managers (69 percent) who say their higher-ups are not effectively communicating with them either. At the same time, 32 percent of frontline workers feel their voice is not being heard when communicating workplace issues.