Key Takeaways

When Did the Terms First Appear?

The term " white - collar chore " and " blue - neckband jobs " pop up in discussions about body of work , the economy , education and class . But why are job sorted like stacks of wash by neckband colors , especially in a human race where a lot of people where metric ton - shirt and hoodies to work , no matter what they do ? The result is about a C erstwhile .

Interestingly , white collarwas the first to come along , in 1910 . ANebraska newspaperused the terminal figure to counterpoint office workers and farmworkers in the Midwest . man would often wear clean , starched white - collared shirt to church on Sundays . Who would n’t , the paper question , select a job where they could assume a white choker to work and remain sporty over the dirty , begrimed , sweaty physicalwork of the Fannie Merritt Farmer ?

Once white collar entered the linguistic communication , it did n’t take long for its work corollary to issue . Blue collarfirst appeared in1924 in a newspaper in Iowato refer to men working in the trades , such as woodworking . These serviceman did n’t really wear out blue - nab shirts all that often , but they did wearblue - dye jeansand overalls to do their jobs . The shirt they wore were usually sinister color to help hide the stains that came with doing their oeuvre .

blue collar white collar workers

What Do White Collar and Blue Collar Mean?

The two terms gain traction after World War II . As the 20th century progressed , the terminal figure became tachygraphy fordifferent type of caper . snowy collar doer were commonly in offices , in administrative or management roles , and were paid a salary . These job often want college degrees .

Blue collar workers were often working out of doors or on job sites , doing manual or proficient labor , and were pay hourly or by the opus . These line often required vocational training or an apprenticeship , or they may have had on - the - line training .

Along the way , these terms picked up aclass preeminence , too . Blue - apprehension workers were perceive as being " lower class " than white - collar workers . This is despite the fact that many of these jobs , whether they were in management or patronage , paid similar salary .

Are the Terms Obsolete?

The terms arebecoming outdatedfor a band of reasons , first among them being their false class connotation . They ’re also root in jobs that were only available to humankind . And there ’s the fact that a mass of job do n’t want shirts with collars at all anymore .

We ’re far retiring " brainsick Men"-style suits and into a " The Social web " phase angle of workplace attire . Jobs that used to be considered down choker , like factory employment , are cleaner and more proficient than they used to be . New terms , like " industrial doer " and " industrial artisans " are graze up to replace the former .

Frequently Asked Questions