Types of worker

[edit] Introduction to colour coded collars

Describing types of workers or professions by their collar colour, is rather crude simplification of roles. The two most common being whit-collar and blue-collar workers. The term white collar worker is said to have been coined by the American writer Upton Sinclair in the 1930s to describe clerical, administrative and managerial staff. Blue-collar, in turn started to be used around the same to decribe manual workers, perhaps wearing hard wearing clothing such as denim.

More recently the term green-collar worker has been introduced to describe newer roles relating to the environmental industry also referred to as green jobs. These roles were defined by UNEP as 'persons who, during a set reference period, were employed ... in the production of environmental goods and services’. Another more recent term that might be found in the UK and US is an open-collar worker which refers to people who work from home, usually Internet based freelancers.

Whilst in the UK, in general only the above coloured coded terms are referenced commonly, in American English many more colours might be used to describe different professions, trades and fields of work. Below is a list of some of the possibble derivations.

[edit] Blue-collar workers

Blue-collar worker has been described by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as ‘Production workers (also referred to as manual workers or blue-collar workers) generally include those employees who are engaged in fabrication, assembly and related activities, material handling, warehousing and shipping, maintenanceand repair, janitorial and guard services, auxiliary production (such as power plants), and other services closely related to the above activities. Working supervisors are generally included, while apprentices and other trainees are generally excluded.’

[edit] White-collar workers

White-collar worker has been described in the glossary of statistical terms, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as: ‘Office, clerical, administrative, sales, professional, and technical employees, as distinguished from production and maintenance employees who are usually referred to as blue-collar workers.’

[edit] Green-collar workers

Green-collar worker has been described by UNEP and the International Labour Organization (ILO) based on their employment in the Environmental Goods and Service Sector (EGSS) , (UNEP et al., 2008). Employees in the environmental sector are defined as ‘persons who, during a set reference period, were employed ... in the production of environmental goods and services’ (ILO, 2013a, p. 18). In an early report published in the context of this initiative, UNEP defined green jobs as ‘those that contribute appreciably to maintaining or restoring environmental quality and avoiding future damage to the Earth’s ecosystems’ (UNEP et al., 2008, p. 35). For example, green jobs reduce the consumption of materials and energy, support decarbonisation processes, reduce waste and pollution, or restore biodiversity.

[edit] Open-collar workers

Open-collar worker has been used to referenc people who work from home, usually Internet based freelancers.

[edit] Black collar workers

Black collar worker has been used to decribe manual laborers working in industries such as mining or oil-drilling.

[edit] Brown collar workers

Brown collar workers has been used to decribe military personnel.

[edit] Red-collar workers

Red-collar worker, in some cases used to describe government workers, in China, also refering to Communist Party officials.

[edit] Gold collar workers

Gold collar worker has been used to describe skilled high-demand professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, pilots, and scientists. Also has been used to decribe younger low-wage workers and what they spend their wages on.

[edit] Purple-collar workers

Purple-collar worker describes a crossover between white and blue collar roles, where technical ability is required such as IT workers, engineers, and technicians.

[edit] Pink-collar workers

Pink-collar worker has been used to describe jobs in the service industry such as nurses, secretaries, elementary school teachers, and traditionally taken up by women. Said to have been coined by social critic and writer Louise Kapp Howe.

[edit] Orange-collar workers

Orange-collar worker has been used to describe US prison service workers (based on the colour of prison uniforms)

[edit] Yellow-collar workers

Yellow-collar worker has been used to describe people working in creative industries such as photographers, filmmakers, directors and so on.

[edit] Gray-Collar workers

Gray-Collar Worker is perhaps another cross between white and blue collar such as firefighters, police officers, health care professionals, security guards and so on.

[edit] New-Collar workers

New-Collar Worker describes middle-skill level roles in newer technology, for example AI, cybersecurity, app developers, and cloud computing and so on (said to have been coined b IBM CEO Ginni Rometty in 2016).

[edit] Steel or Chrome-Collar workers

Steel-collar and chrome-collars refer to the robotics industry, machine learning and so on.