Beyond Blue-Collar: Organizing White-Collar Workers in a Printing and Packaging Company in the 1960s

In the field of consumption history there is growing interest in informal shopping practices, smuggling, and black-market activities in state socialist societies. Yet, little emphasis has been placed on how the foremost socialist workplace, the factory, became a crucial hub for smuggled goods and the extent to which workers played a role within it. This article explores local Budapest court cases from the beginning of the 1960s using the methodological insights of everyday history (Alltagsgeschichte). The cases show that white-collar workers (and in rare cases blue-collar workers) with a command of foreign languages frequently acted as middlemen in making transactions. This specific cultural capital put white-collar workers in a position to gain profit over and above their usual state salary, often contradicting wage hierarchies set by the state. At the same time, blue-collar workers embraced informal shopping possibilities at the factory in a climate of diversifying consumer expectations. This article examines how informal practices of selling and obtaining goods transformed relations among workers and created a new social hierarchy within working-class communities.

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Socioeconomic Differences in Patient Survival Are Increasing for Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma in Sweden

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2008.18.2006 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 27 (12) ◽

pp. 2073-2080 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Sigurdur Yngvi Kristinsson ◽

Åsa Rangert Derolf ◽

Gustaf Edgren ◽

Paul W. Dickman ◽

Magnus Björkholm

Keyword(s):

Multiple Myeloma ◽

Acute Myeloid Leukemia ◽

Myeloid Leukemia ◽

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Lower Mortality ◽

Blue Collar Workers ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

The Impact ◽

Acute Myeloid

Purpose An association between socioeconomic status (SES) and survival in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and multiple myeloma (MM) has not been established in developed countries. We assessed the impact of SES on survival in two large population-based cohorts of AML and MM patients diagnosed in Sweden 1973 to 2005. Patients and Methods The relative risk of death (all cause and cause specific) in relation to SES was estimated using Cox's proportional hazards regression. We also conducted analyses stratified by calendar periods (1973 to 1979, 1980 to 1989, 1990 to 1999, and 2000 to 2005). Results We identified a total of 9,165 and 14,744 patients with AML and MM, respectively. Overall, higher white-collar workers had a lower mortality than other SES groups for both AML (P = .005) and MM (P < .005). In AML patients, a consistently higher overall mortality was observed in blue-collar workers compared with higher white-collar workers in the last three periods (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.51; HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.45; HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.57, respectively). In MM, no difference was observed in the first two calendar periods. However, in 1990 to 1999, self-employed (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.37), blue-collar workers (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.32), and retired (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.80) had a higher mortality compared to higher white-collar workers. In 2000 to 2005, blue-collar workers had a higher mortality (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.60) compared with higher white-collar workers. Conclusion SES was significantly associated with survival in both AML and MM. Most conspicuously, a lower mortality was observed among the highest SES group during more recent calendar periods. Differences in management, comorbidity, and lifestyle, are likely factors to explain these findings.

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Change in the Racial Composition of Occupations, 1960–1970

Sociological Perspectives ◽

10.2307/1388995 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 115-142 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mark D. Hayward ◽

Shelley Coverman

Keyword(s):

Racial Inequality ◽

Industrial Structure ◽

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Economic Conditions ◽

Racial Composition ◽

Black Workers ◽

Black Employment ◽

Structural Growth ◽

The 1960S

This study estimates change in the racial inequality of employment during the 1960s, a decade characterized by substantial economic growth and significant government antidiscriminatory activity. The focus is on the influence of (1) structural change, as measured by industrial and occupational growth, and (2) indicators of industrial structure (e.g., profitability, concentration) on change in the racial composition of occupations within industries. The analysis indicates that black workers in both white-collar and blue-collar occupations made relative employment gains primarily in expanding sectors of the economy. The structural growth that occurred in the 1960s, therefore, had substantial benefits for black employment opportunities. Extrapolating from our findings on black employment gains in the 1960s, we conclude that there is little reason to expect dramatic progress in positional inequality for blacks today given current political and economic conditions.

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Effects of Social Context on Psychological Responses to Survived Myocardial Infarction

The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine ◽

10.2190/k9kp-xujd-r6qm-4dbn ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 23-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

D. G. Byrne

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

White Collar ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Myocardial Tissue ◽

Psychological Responses ◽

Work Efficiency ◽

The Social ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

Returning To Work

Persons respond in a diversity of ways to the crisis of acute myocardial infarction (MI). The social contexts of 120 survivors of MI was examined to determine whether this influenced such responses, working on the assumption that MI would represent a greater threat to the livelihoods of certain groups of persons than it would for other groups. The most prominent influence was observed for patients' occupation, where persons in so-called blue collar occupations exhibited significantly more anxiety in response to MI than did persons in white collar occupations. It was argued that this arose from the possibility that the nature of blue collar jobs was physical, and that loss of myocardial tissue might be expected to more markedly interfere with their work efficiency (on returning to work) than it would the efficiency of the more sedentary jobs of white collar workers.

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Quality of Life Among Lifetime Victimized Men

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/088667007780477366 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 189-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joaquim J.F. Soares ◽

Eija Viitasara ◽

Gloria Macassa

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Financial Strain ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Secondary School Education ◽

Upper Secondary ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Design

Quality of life was compared for lifetime victimized (n = 353) and nonvictimized men (n = 167) for demographic and quality of life variables by a cross-sectional design. The univariate analyses showed that victims compared to nonvictims had a lower quality of life, were younger, more often had upper secondary school education, and were more often blue-collar/low white-collar workers, on student allowances, on unemployment, financially strained, and smokers. The regressions revealed that unemployment, financial strain, smoking, depression, and home/public abuse were associated with reduced quality of life among victimized men. Being a blue-collar/low/intermediate white-collar worker and social support were related to increased quality of life. This study may have provided new insights into the experiences of quality of life of victimized men.

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Occupational Injuries in Korea: A Comparison of Blue‐Collar and White‐Collar workers' Rates and Underreporting

Journal of Occupational Health ◽

10.1539/joh.49.53 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 53-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jonguk Won ◽

Yeonsoon Ahn ◽

Jaesuk Song ◽

Donghee Koh ◽

Jaehoon Roh

Keyword(s):

Occupational Injuries ◽

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

White Collar Workers

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What does work mean to your workers?

Human Resource Management International Digest ◽

10.1108/hrmid-05-2017-0082 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 15-17

Keyword(s):

Design Methodology ◽

White Collar Crime ◽

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Content Type ◽

Blue Collar Workers ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

Pertinent Information ◽

Hr Managers ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Talk of blue-collar and white-collar workers will seem faintly outdated for many HR managers. For some, blue-collar workers will conjure up images from the 1970s and 1980s of striking mineworkers, some of the terrible conditions in steel works or in car factories in the pre-robot era. And as for white-collar workers, again this term seems a little anachronistic, albeit it has recently been adopted when referring to computerized “white-collar” crime. And as for pink-collar workers, this surely was left for dead in the 1970s along with bell-bottom flares and male perms. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

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Advance Notice and Unemployment: New Evidence from the 1988 Displaced Worker Survey

ILR Review ◽

10.1177/001979399204500402 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 45 (4) ◽

pp. 645-664 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

John T. Addison ◽

Pedro Portugal

Keyword(s):

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Blue Collar Workers ◽

Positive Effects ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

Advance Notice ◽

Duration Of Unemployment ◽

Displaced Worker ◽

New Evidence ◽

Male Workers

This paper examines how advance notice of layoff affects the incidence and duration of unemployment following displacement. The authors use the Displaced Worker Survey for 1988, which, unlike earlier surveys in the series, contains information on written notice. The results are mixed. Longer written notice may more than double the proportion of white-collar workers who move directly to new employment. But written notice has no such positive effects for blue-collar workers, regardless of its length. Informal (unwritten) notice benefits male workers, either by improving their chances of avoiding unemployment (white-collar men) or by reducing the average spell of unemployment (blue-collar men).

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Social Class and Changes in Health-Related Habits in Finland in 1973–1983

Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine ◽

10.1177/140349488601400107 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 39-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Seppo Aro ◽

Leena Räsänen ◽

Risto Telama

Keyword(s):

Social Class ◽

Dietary Habits ◽

White Collar ◽

Blue Collar ◽

Personal Health ◽

Class Differences ◽

Blue Collar Workers ◽

White Collar Workers ◽

Health Related

The aim of this project was to study social class differences with respect to various health-related habits and especially to note the changes in these habits after a 10-year follow-up period. From this study conclusions can be drawn as to whether health education efforts and increased interest in personal health has been more widely adopted by the more educated groups than the less educated groups, whose morbidity and mortality rates are higher. The sample consisted of 902 white-collar and blue-collar workers. Smoking was found to be more common among blue-collar workers in both years. Smoking rates had declined in all groups except female blue-collar workers. Occasions of drinking were more frequent among white-collar than blue-collar workers. However, heavier forms of drinking were more common in male blue-collar than white-collar groups, while the opposite was true among women. Dietary habits in white-collar groups were closer to the “official” recommendations than in the respective blue-collar groups in both years. White-collar men were physically more active at the time of the first investigation, and even more so ten years later. Among women, social class differences were in the same direction, but less marked. In conclusion, in the early 1970s the health-related habits examined were, in most instances, less favourable among blue-collar than white-collar workers. No consistent pattern of change in these habits was observed in the 10-year follow-up. At the end of the follow-up, many of the “inequalities” still persisted.

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