A new report from employee experience platform Unily and digital signage provider Screencloud has quantified what many enterprises have long suspected: poor communication with frontline staff is an expensive problem. The research, released on September 10, estimates that “frontline friction” costs businesses a staggering US$80.6 billion annually.
The study, “Disconnected and Disengaged: The Economic Cost of Frontline Friction,” surveyed 800 frontline employees across various industries. It found that outdated systems, fragmented communication, and underinvestment in digital tools have created a critical disconnect between workers and leadership.
Not surprisingly, at the core of the problem is lost — many would say wasted — time, leading to employee frustration. On average, over the course of a year, each frontline worker spends 120 hours unable to work due to poor access to information, 124 hours searching for what they need, and 132 hours redoing tasks because of incomplete instructions.
“This staggering figure shows that operational efficiency is a huge strategic blind spot,” said Kaz Hassan, Principal of Community & Market Insights at Unily. “Businesses can no longer afford to treat frontline communication and knowledge sharing as a nice-to-have. It impacts everything—your bottom line, your competitiveness, and your culture.”
The research also flags security risks. With official channels sometimes lacking, 71 percent of frontline employees admit to using personal devices or third-party apps to share company information. More troubling, 37 percent have shared sensitive, proprietary data through these unofficial, less secure, routes.
Beyond lost hours and security gaps, the report highlights a more profound cultural disconnect. Nearly three-quarters of frontline workers say they don’t understand their company’s strategy, and only one in four feels their feedback ever reaches leadership. That disconnect carries real consequences: only 39 percent of respondents say they are happy in their current roles, and 31 percent would consider moving to a company with a better digital experience.
For Unily and Screencloud, the answer lies in creating a “single source of truth” through employee experience platforms and workplace digital signage. “It’s imperative that every worker, from head office to factory floor, gets the right information at the right time,” said Mark McDermott, CEO of Screencloud. “Digital screens meet employees where they are—and in critical moments that can make all the difference.”
The report lays out a blueprint for enterprises to close the gap: invest in governed, consumer-grade digital tools that deliver speed, flexibility, and clarity. By doing so, companies can reduce friction, improve retention, and reclaim billions lost to disconnection.