White-collar worker

{{Short description|Social class; person who performs intellectual labor}} thumb|300x300px|Office workers A '''white-collar worker''' is a person who performs knowledge-based, aptitude-based, managerial, or administrative work generally performed in an office or similar setting.

In contrast, blue-collar workers perform manual labor or work in skilled trades; pink-collar workers work in care, health care, social work, or teaching; green-collar workers specifically work in the environmental sector; and grey-collar jobs combine manual labor and skilled trades with non-manual or managerial duties.

With the emergence of the AI boom, there have been studies released arguing white-collar workers are, as of 2024, more susceptible to technological unemployment caused by AI (which according to those studies has already started) relative to blue, grey or pink-collar workers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Layoffs surge in US white collar jobs as rates, AI alter office work |url=https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2024/11/layoffs-surge-in-us-white-collar-jobs-as-rates-ai-alter-office-work-85986794 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223182319/https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2024/11/layoffs-surge-in-us-white-collar-jobs-as-rates-ai-alter-office-work-85986794 |archive-date=2025-02-23 |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=S&P Global Market Intelligence |language=en}}</ref>

==Etymology== The term refers to the white dress shirts or detachable collars of male office workers common through most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Western countries, as opposed to the blue overalls worn by many manual laborers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brough |first=Dean |date=2014-05-14 |title=The story of … the men’s white shirt |url=https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-the-mens-white-shirt-26312 |access-date=2026-05-07 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref>

The term "white collar" is credited to Upton Sinclair, an American writer, in relation to contemporary clerical, administrative, and management workers during the 1930s,<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition. Electronically indexed online document. White collar, usage 1, first example.</ref> though references to white-collar work appear as early as 1935. White collar employees are considered highly educated and talented as compared to blue collar.

==Health effects== Less physical activity among white-collar workers has been thought to be a key factor in increased life-style related health conditions such as fatigue, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schröer|first1=S|last2=Haupt|first2=J|last3=Pieper|first3=C|title=Evidence-based lifestyle interventions in the workplace--an overview.|journal=Occupational Medicine|date=January 2014|volume=64|issue=1|pages=8–12|pmid=24280187|doi=10.1093/occmed/kqt136|doi-access=free}}</ref> Also, working at a computer could potentially lead to diseases associated with monotonous data entry, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalika |first=Lev |title=Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS): Occupational Disease of White-Collar Workers |url=https://opporty.com/blog/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-cts-occupational-disease-of-white-collar-workers.html |access-date=2020-03-06 |website=Opporty |archive-date=2023-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007050257/https://opporty.com/blog/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-cts-occupational-disease-of-white-collar-workers.html }}</ref> Workplace interventions such as alternative activity workstations, sit-stand desks, and promotion of stair use are among measures being implemented to counter the harms of sedentary workplace environments.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Commissaris|first1=DA|last2=Huysmans|first2=MA|last3=Mathiassen|first3=SE|last4=Srinivasan|first4=D|last5=Koppes|first5=LL|last6=Hendriksen|first6=IJ|title=Interventions to reduce sedentary behavior and increase physical activity during productive work: a systematic review.|journal=Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health|date=18 December 2015|pmid=26683116|doi=10.5271/sjweh.3544|volume=42|issue=3|pages=181–91|doi-access=free}}</ref> The quality of evidence used to determine the effectiveness and potential health benefits of many of these interventions is weak. More research is needed to determine which interventions may be effective in the long term.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Shrestha|first1=Nipun|last2=Kukkonen-Harjula|first2=Katriina T.|last3=Verbeek|first3=Jos H.|last4=Ijaz|first4=Sharea|last5=Hermans|first5=Veerle|last6=Pedisic|first6=Zeljko|date=2018|title=Workplace interventions for reducing sitting at work|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=2018|issue=12|article-number=CD010912|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD010912.pub5|issn=1469-493X|pmc=6517221|pmid=30556590}}</ref> Low-quality evidence indicates that sit-stand desks may reduce sitting in the workplace during the first year of their use; however, it is not clear if sit-stand desks may be effective at reducing sitting in the longer-term.<ref name=":0" /> An intervention to encourage office workers to stand and move reduced their sitting time by 22 minutes after 1 year; the effect was 3 times greater when the intervention included a sit-to-stand desk. The intervention also led to small improvements in stress, well-being, and vigor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Edwardson |first1=Charlotte L. |last2=Biddle |first2=Stuart J. H. |last3=Clemes |first3=Stacy A. |last4=Davies |first4=Melanie J. |last5=Dunstan |first5=David W. |last6=Eborall |first6=Helen |last7=Granat |first7=Malcolm H. |last8=Gray |first8=Laura J. |last9=Healy |first9=Genevieve N. |last10=Jaicim |first10=Nishal Bhupendra |last11=Lawton |first11=Sarah |last12=Maylor |first12=Benjamin D. |last13=Munir |first13=Fehmidah |last14=Richardson |first14=Gerry |last15=Yates |first15=Thomas |date=2022-08-17 |title=Effectiveness of an intervention for reducing sitting time and improving health in office workers: three arm cluster randomised controlled trial |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj-2021-069288 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=378 |article-number=e069288 |doi=10.1136/bmj-2021-069288 |issn=1756-1833 |pmc=9382450 |pmid=35977732}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last= |first= |date=2023-06-27 |title=How can office workers spend less time sitting? |url=https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/intervention-helped-office-workers-to-spend-less-time-sitting/ |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=NIHR Evidence |doi= 10.3310/nihrevidence_58670|s2cid= 259679486|language=en-GB|url-access=subscription|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Demographics== Formerly a minority in the agrarian and early industrial societies, white-collar workers have become a majority in industrialized countries due to modernization and outsourcing of manufacturing jobs.<ref name="M-Z">{{cite book |last1=Van Horn |first1=Carl |url=https://archive.org/details/workinamericaenc0002unse |title=Work in America: M-Z |last2=Schaffner |first2=Herbert |publisher=ABC-Clio Ltd |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57607-676-7 |location=CA, US |pages=597 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The blue-collar and white-collar phrases may no longer be literally accurate, as office attire has broadened beyond a white shirt. Employees in many offices may dress in colourful casual or business casual clothes. In addition, the work tasks have blurred. "White-collar" employees may perform "blue-collar" tasks (or vice versa). An example would be a restaurant manager who may wear more formal clothing yet still assist with cooking food or taking customers' orders, or a construction worker who also performs desk work.

==White-collar jobs== {{See also|List of engineering branches|List of medical doctors|List of accounting roles|List of education by subject|l4=Teaching subjects}} White-collar workers include job paths related to banking, finance, compliance, legal, risk management, internal audit, data privacy, cybersecurity, insurance, government, consulting, scientific research, library and information science, archival science, accountancy, business and executive management, customer support, design, economics, science, technology, engineering, market research, human resources, operations research, marketing, public relations, real estate, information technology, networking, healthcare, architecture, and research and development. Some examples of white-collar jobs are: {{div col|colwidth=18em}} * Accountant * Actuary * Advertising * Architect * Auditor * Banker * Bookkeeper * Business analyst * Business development * Chemist * Civil engineer * Computer programmer * Counselor * Data analyst * Data scientist * Dentist * Designer * Doctor * Economist * Editor * Electrical engineer * Engineers * Financial analyst * Graphic designer * Human resources * Information technology * Insurance broker * Investment banker * Journalist * Lawyer * Librarian * Lobbyist * Management consultant * Marketing * Pharmacist * Physician * Professor * Project manager * Psychiatrist * Psychologist * Public relations * Real estate broker * Researcher * Sales * Social worker * Statistician * Systems analyst * Teacher * Technical writer * Urban planner * Web developer<ref>{{cite web |title=The Twenty Largest White-Collar Occupations |url=https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/reports-publications/the-twenty-largest-white-collar-occupations/ |website=United States Office of Personnel Management |publisher=U.S. Office of Personnel Management |access-date=4 March 2026 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Drew |first=Chris |title=25 Examples of White Collar Jobs (A to Z List) |url=https://helpfulprofessor.com/white-collar-jobs-examples/ |website=Helpful Professor |access-date=4 March 2026 |date=20 October 2021 |language=en }}</ref> {{div col end}}

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * Mills, Charles Wright. ''White Collar: the American Middle Classes'', in series, ''Galaxy Book[s]''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1956. ''N.B''.: "First published [in] 1951."

==External links== * {{Wiktionary-inline|white-collar}}

Category:1930s neologisms Category:Employment classifications Category:Office work Category:Social classes