frontliner

The word frontliner is based on frontline worker, which has been recorded since the late 1950s. A frontline worker works on the frontline of a business or organization, performing its public-facing work.

Frontliner was used in the late 1800s to refer to soldiers fighting on the frontline of combat, experiencing the most immediate, intense action with the enemy. The term was metaphorically extended to people positioned at other forefronts of an enterprise—that is, at the most important or prominent position.

Frontliner saw use in business contexts as early as the 1980s and became more popular in the 1990s. It was used in the same way as frontline worker, especially to refer to employees in customer service who had direct contact with clients. Frontliner became especially used in Southeast Asia, such as in the Philippines:

thank you frontliners for your sacrifices this time of pandemic and typhoon.

— 𝓻 𝓱 𝓮 𝓪 𝓷 (@raaeyann) November 12, 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19 led to greater use of frontliner in the US. The word has become especially used to refer to people on the frontlines of the public health crisis, involved in various roles of caring for people who have or may have been exposed to the virus. This group includes such workers as doctors, nurses, paramedics, and personal care aides. 

During the pandemic, frontliner also spread as a term for workers on the frontlines of grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, transportation, utilities, and other essential roles for society to keep running. The public-facing nature puts them at increased exposure to COVID-19. Wildfire fighters and other climate emergency responders have also become increasingly called frontliners in 2020.

There has been some debate over who technically qualifies as frontliner as governments work to pass legislation and programs assisting them. Generally, the term frontliner (or frontline worker) is used to refer to anyone who provides an essential service and can’t perform their job from home.