Blue-collar workers may be paid hourly wages while their white-collar counterparts typically command annual salaries. There are other perceived differences, as well, including educational backgrounds, appearances, and social classes. Workers were historically divided into categories based on the type of attire they wore. Blue-collar workers wore blue-colored clothing that was meant to hide the dirt and residue that came from working with their hands while white-collar workers wore white shirts underneath their suits.
- Examples of white-collar crimes include securities fraud, embezzlement, corporate fraud, and money laundering.
- Since World War II the number of white-collar workers in the U.S. labor force has increased dramatically.
- People began flocking to large cities where factories were labor to operate machinery and work on the production line.
These can commonly reflect one’s occupation within a broad class, or sometimes gender;[1] at least in the late 20th and 21st century, these are generally metaphorical and not a description of typical present apparel. For the two terms of longest use, white-collar workers are named for the white-collared shirts that were fashionable among office workers in the early and mid-20th century. Blue-collar workers are referred to as such because in the early 20th century, they usually wore sturdy, inexpensive clothing that did not show dirt easily, such as blue denim or cambric shirts. The term blue-collar worker refers to individuals who engage in hard manual labor, typically in the agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, or maintenance sectors.
White-collar positions are often expected to offer opportunities to advance to more significant roles as managers or executives. A white-collar role is likewise expected to generate higher paying salaries with the potential to continue to rapidly scale up their income with further advancement. Various other “collar” descriptions exist as well, although none have received the kind of broad use in American English as the traditional white-collar/blue-collar distinction.
White collar employees are considered highly educated and talented as compared to blue collar. This class of workers stands in contrast to blue-collar workers, who traditionally wore blue shirts and worked in plants, mills, and factories. Those who have this sort of job are characterized as members of the working class. Typical white-collar jobs include company management, lawyers, accountants, financial and insurance jobs, consultants, and computer programmers, among many others. The blue-collar and white-collar descriptors as it pertains to work dress may no longer be an accurate descriptor, as office attire has broadened beyond a white shirt and tie. Employees in office environments may wear a variety of colors, may dress in business casuals or wear casual clothes altogether.
Why Are Jobs Defined by Collar Color?
A white-collar worker, on the other hand, may have obtained their job through a more stringent hiring process and may be more difficult to fire. The income of those who don’t earn a salary may be contingent on maintaining a client base, such as private practice lawyers and physicians. But their position may be stable since the work carries specific skills. White-collar professionals may be expected to be on call even during vacation times and outside of normal business hours.
What’s the Difference Between Blue- and White-Collar Jobs?
White-collar workers, on the other hand, can be found in office settings in clerical, administrative, or management roles. Blue-collar jobs are typically classified as involving manual labor and compensation by an hourly wage. Some fields that fall into this category include construction, manufacturing, maintenance, and mining. Many white-collar jobs require a significant amount of education, training, and experience. Management-level positions may require additional credentials such as an MBA, CPA, or CFA. For qualified individuals, white-collar job openings may be posted on job boards, but these types of jobs can also be found through word of mouth among people’s social networks.
Pink collar
Most of these people historically wore blue collared shirts when they worked. Gold collar signifies white-collar workers who come with higher skills and are in higher demand. Red-collar workers are those who work white collar workers definition economics in the government whose salaries come from the red ink budget. Pink-collar is an outdated term that was used to describe sectors that were historically dominated by women, including nursing and secretarial work.
While these distinctions still exist, the lines between these two categories are fading. While blue-collar jobs were once less desirable because of the type of work and pay involved compared to white-collar ones, people are beginning to change the way they think. As such, being a blue-collar worker doesn’t mean that you’re any less than someone who works in an office setting. There is an idea that blue-collar workers aren’t as educated as those who work white-collar jobs. That’s because office work typically requires post-secondary education.
Expectations of White-Collar Jobs
There is considerable difference of opinion concerning the political and social attitudes of white-collar workers. Wright Mills, author of White Collar (1951), contend that members of the group identify with the institutions for which they work and hence tend toward political conservatism. Both terms have meanings that evoke different images, including the type of work involved and how people are paid. For instance, blue-collar workers generally perform manual labor and are either paid by the hour or on a piecework basis.
At senior levels, they may be part of a firm’s upper management and hierarchy. American writer Upton Sinclair is partially responsible for the modern understanding of the term white-collar, having used the phrase in conjunction with administrative work. A white-collar crime is a non-violent crime committed by an individual, often of middle or upper socioeconomic status, typically for financial gain. Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology.
One of the newest types of collar colors is the green collar, which refers to jobs in the environmental sector. White-collar workers, broad occupational grouping of workers engaged in nonmanual labor; frequently contrasted with blue-collar (manual) employees. American in origin, the term has close analogues in other industrial countries. Managers, salaried professionals, office workers, sales personnel, and proprietors are generally included in the category. Since World War II the number of white-collar workers in the U.S. labor force has increased dramatically. Today they account for almost 50% of the labor force, outnumbering blue-collar workers by approximately 11 million persons.
White-collar workers are often expected to develop specialized skills over time, making them increasingly valuable intellectual assets for the growth of the company. For example, an accountant may have to keep abreast of all regulatory changes that could affect how their clients or company reports income. What counts as a good job is subjective and depends on a myriad of personal and situational https://simple-accounting.org/ factors. That said, white-collar jobs tend to pay more than blue-collar jobs and come with more generous benefits. There are white-collar workers’ unions, though, historically, union membership has been a distinction of blue-collar workers. The Industrial Revolution ushered in the era of the blue-collar worker when individuals began moving from rural areas in search of work.
Rather, it’s all about what people are made to believe about how each is defined. Workers in white-collar jobs often receive annual salaries over hourly wages. This is a fixed amount that doesn’t factor in a specific number of hours. This means that paystubs highlight the portion of the salary for that particular period rather than the number of hours worked. Skills can be acquired on the job or, more commonly, at a trade school.
White-collar work used to mean a high level of education and the assumption of securing a cushy job with perks. That distinction today is blurred by the fact that white-collar employment has become the dominant working class in the U.S. and other advanced nations. The differences between the terms blue- and white-collar have much more to say about how they’re perceived. This includes how we view various industries, the extent to which individuals are educated, their appearances, and social classes.
