The term white-collar worker refers to a salaried A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis professional or an educated worker A laborer is one of the construction trades, traditionally considered unskilled manual labor, as opposed to skilled labor.[clarification needed] In the division of labor, laborers have all blasting, hand tools, power tools, air tools, and small heavy equipment, and act as assistants to other trades, e.g., operators or cement masons. The first who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who typically performs manual labor and earns an hourly wage. Blue-collar workers are distinguished from those in the service sector and from white-collar workers, whose jobs are not considered manual labor, whose job requires manual labor Manual labour is physical work done with the hands, especially in an unskilled job such as fruit and vegetable picking, road building, or any other field where the work may be considered physically arduous, and which has as a profitable objective, usually the production of goods. "White-collar work" is an informal term, defined in contrast to "blue-collar work".
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History
Origin of the term
The term "white collar" is accredited to Upton Sinclair Upton Sinclair, Jr. , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the 20th century, acquiring particular fame for his 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle. It exposed conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the, an American writer, in relation to modern clerical Clerk, the vocational title, commonly refers to a white-collar worker who conducts general office or, in some instances, sales tasks. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service counters and other administrative tasks. In American English, this includes shop staff, but in British English, such, administrative and management workers during the 1930s,[1] though references to "easy work and a white collar" appear as early as 1911.[2] Examples of its usage in the 1920's include a 1923 Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal is an English-language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, in New York City, with Asian and European editions article that reads, "Movement from high schools to manual labor in steel plants is unusual, as boys formerly sought white collar work."[3]
Sinclair's usage is related to the fact that during most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, male office workers in European Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the and American The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total countries almost always had to wear white, collared dress shirts A dress shirt , or simply shirt (also button-front or button-down shirt) is a shirt with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and sleeves with cuffs. Dress shirts are predominantly used by men, since women usually wear blouses. The front opening is fastened using buttons or studs, and the cuffs close with.
Demographics
Formerly a minority in the agrarian Agrarianism and agrarian have two meanings. One refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which stresses the moral superiority of a rural life based on farming, as opposed to the supposed corruption of city life, with its banks and factories. Thomas Jefferson was a famous representative agrarian and early industrial Industry refers to the production of an economic good within an economy. There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction, and manufacturing; the tertiary sector, which deals with services (such as law societies, white-collar workers have become a majority in industrialized countries The term developed country is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue and is surrounded by fierce debate. Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita;. Industrial and occupational change during the twentieth century created disproportionately more desk jobs, and reduced the number of employees doing manual work in factories A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production. Typically, factories gather and concentrate resources:.
In recent times workers have had varying degrees of latitude about their choice of dress. Dress codes Clothing is an aspect of human physical appearance, and like other aspects of human physical appearance it has social significance. All societies have dress codes, most of which are unwritten but understood by most members of the society. The dress code has built in rules or signals indicating the message being given by a person's clothing and how can range from relaxed — with employees allowed to wear jeans and street clothes — up to traditional office attire. Many companies today operate in a business-casual Business casual is a popular dress code in white-collar workplaces in Western countries. In the United States, 43% of non-self employed workers commonly wear casual business attire. Casual street wear is the next most common work attire , closely followed by uniforms (19%). Only a minority (9%) of workers wear informal business attire environment where employees are required to wear dress pants Dress pants suit pants are a style of pants intended as formal or semi-formal wear. They are often made of either wool or polyester (although many other synthetic and natural textiles are used) and may be designed to be worn with a matching suit jacket. Dress pants have a crease on them because of their tight-fitting nature. Unlike formal trousers (business trousers) or skirts and a shirt with a collar. Because of this, not all of what would be called white-collar workers in fact wear the traditional white shirt and tie.
As an example of workspace contrast, the higher-ranking executives may have large corner offices A corner office is an office that is located in the corner of a building. Corner offices are considered desirable because they have windows on two walls, as opposed to a typical office with only one window or none at all. As corner offices are typically given to the most senior executives, the term primarily refers to top management positions, with impressive views and expensive furnishings, whereas the lesser-ranked desk clerks may share small, windowless cubicles A cubicle's purpose is to isolate office workers from the sights and noises of an open workspace, the theory being that this allows workers more privacy and helps them to concentrate without distractions. Horizontal work surfaces are usually suspended from the partitions of cubicles, as is shelving, overhead storage, and other amenities with plain utilitarian furniture. As an example of the differing responsibilities, the higher-ranked worker will usually have a more broad and fundamental responsibility in the company whereas the subordinates will be delegated more specific, and limited tasks. The cases of differing privilege and salary speak for themselves.
At some companies, the "white-collar employees" also on occasion perform "blue-collar" tasks (or vice versa), and even change their clothing to perform the distinctive roles (i.e., dressing up or dressing down as the case requires). This is common in the food-service Foodservice or catering industry (British English) defines those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home. This industry includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other formats industry. An example would be a restaurant manager Restaurant management is the profession of managing a restaurant. Associate, bachelor, and graduate degree programs are offered in restaurant management by community colleges, junior colleges, and some universities in the United States who may wear more formal clothing than lower-ranked employees, yet still sometimes assist with cooking food or taking customers' orders. Employees of event-catering A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose. Mobile catering is common at outdoor events , workplaces, and downtown business districts companies often wear formal clothing when serving food.
As salaried employees, white-collar workers are sometimes members of white-collar labor unions A trade union or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with and they can resort to strike action Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to perform work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became important in factories and mines. In most countries, they were quickly made to settle grievances with their employers when collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process between employers and employees to reach an agreement regarding the rights and duties of people at work. Collective bargaining aims to reach a collective agreement which usually sets out issues such as employees pay, working hours, training, health and safety, and rights to participate in workplace or company fails. This is far more the case in Europe than in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, where less than ten percent of all private sector employees are union members. White-collar workers have a reputation for being skeptical or opposed to unions, and tend to see their advancement in work as tied to their reaching corporate goals rather than in union membership.
C. Wright Mills Charles Wright Mills was an American sociologist. Mills is best remembered for his 1959 book The Sociological Imagination in which he lays out a view of the proper relationship between biography and history, theory and method in sociological scholarship. He is also known for studying the structures of power and class in the U.S. in his book The, an American sociologist Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social activity, often with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. Subject matter, conducted a major research study Research can be defined as the search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. Research can use the of the white-collar workers which was reported in his book, White Collar: The American Middle Classes White Collar: The American Middle Classes is a study of the American middle class by sociologist C. Wright Mills, first published in 1951. It describes the forming of a "new class": the white-collar workers. It is also a major study of social alienation in the modern industrialized world and cities dominated by "salesmanship (1951). He claimed that alienation among the white-collar workers was high because they were not only selling their time but also had to sell their personality with a "smile on their faces", referring to insurance In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured or policyholder is the person or-sales people like his own father.
See also
Notes
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is a dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. As of December 2008[update], the editors had completed one quarter of a third edition, 3rd edition. Electronically indexed online document. White collar, usage 1, first example.
- ^ "The Job of Getting Jobs," World's Work 23, July 1911: 1454-55.
- ^ "Boys in Steel Mills," Wall Street Journal, June 30, 1923.
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Categories: Employment | Office work | Social classes
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stefan slooten
hu, 15 Jul 2010 17:40:45 GM
So was that today, like everyday, except one guy - a . white collar. guy - who was particularly annoyed at the noise came out to deter my colleague and I from using our lawn-trimmer (long, hand held machines which have a spinning ...
Q. I read books about management and it just doesn't seem to be related to my guys who work at the low end jobs.
Asked by thebuffettour - Thu Feb 22 15:59:34 2007 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Hi yes there are a couple of simple rules. Treat them as you would like to be treated. They are all people, no matter what colour the collar is. OK some only use one type of language perhaps but everyone has a value and deserves respect. Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, I have managed men. My first rule of management is this-- Have a meeting and get everyone involved. Not always easy. but completely effective. Keep everyone involved,and some will like to take on some kind of job ownership. Ask someone to be responsible for a small part of the way the job has to be done. You decide or ask them. In a nutshell everyone can contribute to the success of the business no matter what they do. (There are no low end jobs) Some jobs have… [cont.]
Answered by yakatang - Thu Feb 22 16:11:03 2007
