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  • 2022
  • White Paper

Building from the Bottom Up: What Business Can Do to Strengthen the Bottom Line by Investing in Front-line Workers

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

A significant number of American workers—44%—are employed in low wage jobs at the front line of industries. Despite undertaking some of the most tedious, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs, low-wage workers are—and have long been—the most likely to be overlooked by employers and by society. Business leaders express growing anxiety about their ability to fill the low-level positions that are at the foundation of their operating models, yet relatively few actually respond to that threat. Managements do little to understand or address the reasons why low-wage jobs are hard to fill and low-wage workers hard to retain. Most employers show little engagement in workers’ lives, provide minimal support for skill building, give infrequent or unclear feedback, and offer almost no guidance on career pathways. In doing so, employers have ignored the high price their organizations pay: unfilled positions that reduce output and increase overtime, direct and indirect costs caused by constant churn, and the “soft” costs of eroding morale.

Keywords

COVID-19; Labor Market; Low-wage Workers; Worker Welfare; Churn/retention; Morale; Jobs and Positions; Employees; Wages; Retention; Well-being; Human Resources

Citation

Fuller, Joseph B., and Manjari Raman. "Building from the Bottom Up: What Business Can Do to Strengthen the Bottom Line by Investing in Front-line Workers." White Paper, Harvard Business School, January 2022.
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About The Author

Joseph B. Fuller

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Into the Raging Sea: Final Voyage of the SS El Faro

    By: Joseph B. Fuller and Mel Martin
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Managing Workforce Risk in an Era of Unpredictability and Disruption

    By: Joseph B. Fuller, Michael Griffiths, Reem Janho, Michael Stephan, Carey Oven, Keri Calagna, George Fackler, Robin Jones, Sue Cantrell and Zac Shaw
    • January 16, 2023
    • Harvard Business Review (website)

    40 Ideas to Shake Up Your Hiring Process

    By: Joseph Fuller, Nithya Vaduganathan, Allison Bailey and Manjari Raman
More from the Authors
  • Into the Raging Sea: Final Voyage of the SS El Faro By: Joseph B. Fuller and Mel Martin
  • Managing Workforce Risk in an Era of Unpredictability and Disruption By: Joseph B. Fuller, Michael Griffiths, Reem Janho, Michael Stephan, Carey Oven, Keri Calagna, George Fackler, Robin Jones, Sue Cantrell and Zac Shaw
  • 40 Ideas to Shake Up Your Hiring Process By: Joseph Fuller, Nithya Vaduganathan, Allison Bailey and Manjari Raman
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