What is the difference between white-collar and blue-collar work?

The terms blue and white collar are old, and they date as far back as the 1800s when there was a massive class difference between manual workers and office staff. Manual workers commonly wore overalls or work shirts, usually in blue, while office workers were expected to wear shirts with white collars, hence the names.

While white collar has never been a particularly fraught term, blue collar has occasionally been used as a pejorative. This is by no means universal, and many manual workers, such as tradespeople and industrial workers, call themselves blue collar without a second thought. The history of this term should be kept in mind, however, before using it to describe an individual or a particular job. 

It’s rare for any company today to have nothing but white- or blue-collar employees. Even businesses that are entirely office-based are likely to have at least a few manual workers in the building, while machine shops and other hands-on occupations typically need at least one manager, receptionist or other white-collar worker. More than a few modern companies have more even mixes of work descriptions, such as an auto dealership with a white-collar sales team, blue-collar auto mechanics and in-between workers such as service advisors.

White vs. blue collar

In order to better understand blue-collar vs. white-collar distinctions, it may be helpful to develop a clearer picture of what these jobs are and how they relate to each other. As a manager, you’re probably already familiar with many of these roles, but there can be some gray areas that make classification more subjective.

Blue-collar jobs

As a rule, blue-collar jobs involve a significant amount of hands-on labor that requires physical exertion. Blue-collar jobs may require nothing more than a high school diploma, or they may be highly technical professions that call for classroom and field training that lasts for several years. A roofer’s assistant, for instance, might come to the job with no experience and work directly under the supervision of a senior roofer. At the other extreme of training and experience, a master electrician could easily have a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and earn professional-grade pay. Despite these differences, both professions are generally grouped as blue-collar work since they require manual labor. Other common blue-collar jobs are:

• Plumber/pipe fitter 
• Landscaper/gardener 
• Janitor/custodian 
• Machinist/parts fabricator 
• Mechanic/auto technician 
• Car washer/lot porter 
• Delivery/taxi/bus driver/courier 
• Most warehouse and loading dock work 
• Painter/drywaller/plasterer 

White-collar jobs

White-collar jobs tend to be done indoors and in office settings, though increasingly, they’re performed from home. While in the past, a white-collar worker would almost always earn significantly more money than a blue-collar worker, that’s no longer the case. Nor is it the case anymore that white-collar work requires more education than a blue-collar trade. Office receptionists, for example, might earn close to minimum wage, while bank managers bring home significantly more than that, yet both are white-collar workers. An entry-level call center employee might have just graduated from high school, while the CEO of the company could easily have MBAs in finance and accounting. Typical white-collar jobs include:

• Customer service representative 
• Team development leader/supervisor/office manager 
• Accountant/financial analyst/auditor 
• Sales rep/sales manager 
• Inventory/logistics specialist 
• Lawyer/paralegal/legal secretary 

“What collar?” jobs

While it’s possible to draw neat categories, not everybody fits comfortably into one or the other. In a typical law office, for example, the lawyer and paralegal are indisputably white-collar workers, while the technician running new wires in the walls is a blue-collar worker, but what is the process server? This person is based in the office and handles paperwork, but the job of driving around and meeting people to serve papers is closer to manual labor than printing labels on a shipping dock. This is just one example of a job description that defies traditional blue-collar vs. white-collar labels. Others include:

• Musician/actor/dancer/performer 
• Grocery clerk/retail worker 
• Commercial artist/designer 
• Laboratory scientist/lab tech 
• Doctor/surgeon/nurse/medical or surgical tech/EMT/paramedic 

Blue-collar vs. white-collar worker needs

As a manager, you’re responsible for fusing a very diverse group of employees into teams that make sense. Not much can be done without the teamwork you’re encouraging. A lot of this work involves drawing together people with different backgrounds and skill sets to cover each others’ gaps and achieve a unified goal. Regardless of the kind of work your company does, and almost without regard to the industry you’re in, at some point, you’re likely to be balancing the needs of your white-collar and blue-collar workers.

Blue-collar worker needs

Because blue-collar work is characterized by its physical nature, your blue-collar workers effectively use their bodies as tools of their trade. While a sick office worker might be able to soldier on despite feeling under the weather, a sick construction worker could present a hazard on the job site, especially if they’ve been taking medicine that makes them drowsy. Injuries are always a risk for manual laborers, and even a relatively minor sprain could result in missed work and lost productivity. 

Protect your blue-collar employees by learning and applying every safety precaution required by law, and be willing to go beyond the minimum standards of industry best practices. Consider granting generous sick and injured leave for workers who use their bodies to get work done. Promote a safety-first culture on your shop floor or loading dock, and encourage team leaders to pay attention to signs like a blue-collar worker walking with a limp or showing other symptoms of distress. These can indicate a potentially problematic injury that will only get worse if the employee tries to work through it.

White-collar worker needs

White-collar workers spend most or all of their time at work in a controlled office environment, so beyond the office thermostat, there are rarely acute workplace hazards to think about. Desk ergonomics are a concern, as repetitive stress injuries plague white-collar workers in every industry. It’s hard to generalize about such a diverse field as white-collar work, but, in general, your office teams need access to various computer systems and the training to use them effectively. Many workplaces are willing to pay for initial or continuing training on new systems and office work practices.

A unique feature of white-collar work is how easy it is to transition to a work-from-home model. More jobs than ever before are done from home, and this trend looks to accelerate in the post-pandemic years. Setting up a social network that keeps your teams in touch can be very helpful in coordinating your white-collar workers, even if it’s a social hangout on a service like Discord. It’s also a good idea to organize your workplace security to follow system logins and audit trails since a poorly trained or disgruntled white-collar worker with access to financial spreadsheets could potentially do more harm to the company than a team of dock workers with a forklift.

Management’s role in the white- vs. blue-collar environment

The difference between white-collar and blue-collar jobs seems like it might be hard to bridge, but it doesn’t have to be. With intelligence, foresight and a willing attitude that starts in upper management, workers from every background can integrate into productive units for the good of the company. If you manage a business with manual and office workers, consider scheduling at least one meeting among the senior management staff to brainstorm better integration techniques and develop a picture of what your employees need to succeed at work. You could invite representative employees from various specialties, from maintenance technicians to HR staff, to give their feedback and help you better understand the blue-collar vs. white-collar divide, if any, under your company’s roof.