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Currently over seventy percent of the work force is employed in white‐collar jobs. The implication ofwhite‐collar productivity for organizational growth and competitiveness is extremely significant. It is easy to measure the productivity for blue‐collar employees, as the inputs and outputs are well defined. However the process of measuring the productivity of the white‐collar employee is complicated. A model for measuring white‐collar productivity is presented. The organization should design its own productivity measures seeking active employee involvement. The measures developed should be used to design productivity improvement strategies for long term growth and competitiveness of the organization.

Most employee attitudes and behaviors are determined by both personal and situational characteristics. Studies on person–organization fit (POF), which is defined as the congruence between individual and organizational values, also support this assumption. Employees who perceive high POF have high positive work attitudes and low intention to leave. However, this study assumes that the relationship between perceived POF and work attitudes may be different with respect to employees’ status and aims to investigate how perceived POF may differ in consequences among blue-collar and white-collar employees.

Multiple group analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to test the moderation effect of employee status on the relationship between perceived POF and work attitudes.

Results indicated that the relationship between perceived POF and organizational commitment, job satisfaction, organizational identification and intention to leave differ with respect to individual’s status (blue-collar–white collar). As the status of the individuals increases, the relationship between POF and work attitudes (organizational commitment, job satisfaction and organization identification) becomes weaker.

Rather than just focusing results of POF, this study focuses on moderating variables that differentiate the relationship between POF and outcomes by considering individual differences caused by different motivation and abilities.

This study sought to examine the attitudes of blue-collar workers toward job automation. The study examined the relations between job automation, fear of job loss and self-actualization.

Using mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative analysis) with 539 participants overall, we examined employees' attitudes toward job automation through two separate studies conducted in a large public organization that employs blue-, white- and pink-collar employees. The blue-collar workers who participated consisted of waste collectors, gardeners and parking supervisors whose work is at risk of job automation.

We found that 74% of the blue-collar employees described technology as a “replacer” that simplifies and reduces human work activities, while only 3% perceived it as an “enabler” that could enrich their jobs and expand human potential. Fifty-three percent of the employees in the white-collar professions described technology as a “replacer,” and 36% perceived it as an “enabler.” Among pink-collar workers, 51% perceived technology as an “enabler,” while only 14% perceived it as a “replacer.” A positive relationship between job automation and self-actualization was evident for pink- and white-collar workers, but not for blue-collar workers.

This study sheds light on how employees in different types of jobs perceive technological advancements at work. A classification of the perception of technology as an “enabler” vs a “replacer” is presented. The relationships between job automation and self-actualization in different job types are explored.

We use household panel data to explore the wage returns associated with training incidence and intensity (duration) for British employees. We find these returns differ depending on the nature of the training, who funds the training, the skill levels of the recipient (white- or blue-collar), the age of the employee and if the training is with the current employer or not. Using decomposition analysis, training is found to be positively associated with wage dispersion: a virtuous circle of wage gains and training exists in Britain but only for white-collar employees.

The purpose of this paper is to consider how far different unions representing white‐collar workers fulfil the expectations of their memberships. In order to focus upon this problem we intend to concentrate on the area of white‐collar membership of predominantly manual workers' unions: in particular we shall take as examples the cases of the steel and mining industries. At a time when major trade unions representing the white‐collar labour force are competing for membership on an unprecedented scale and when proposals for union amalgamations are currently being voiced, the appropriateness of union policies for this category of employees and their approval by the rank and file are of obvious relevance.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the associations of employees’ attitudes and human resource arrangements to sickness absence from the perspective of absence culture and work ability.

The study was conducted in one of the largest food industry companies in Finland. Sickness absence register data were obtained from the years 2003 to 2005 and a survey from 2005. This survey included single propositions about work arrangements (five propositions) and attitudes (three propositions) during sickness absence. These were analysed by absence days and short (1‐7 days) and long spells (>7 days).

The attitude of blue‐collar workers who agreed that it is a matter of course that someone is absent was statistically significant regarding sickness absence. They had increased risk for sickness absence days and for short spells. From work arrangements during absence the fact that jobs will wait returning to the workplace decreased the risk for short and long sickness absence spells in both groups. In addition, the fact that the employer will take a substitute during workmates’ absence increased the risk for all measured sickness absence rates among white‐collar workers.

These findings should be noted in enterprises’ human resource management and occupational health services to manage and understand sickness absence.

Although sickness absence has been widely studied, very little is known about sickness absence related work arrangements and attitudes associated with sickness absence. This study increases knowledge about these issues.

With the pandemic and digital developments, digital transformation has begun in Human Resources Management (HRM). Applications such as robotic applications, information technology, IIoT, Industry 4.0 have led to a decrease in the need for human resources (HR) and an increase in the need for skilled workers. Along with this need, new-collar, digital-collar, cyber-collar, and metal-collar employee types have been added to the distinction between blue-collar and white-collar. To adapt to Industry 4.0 and to survive the pandemic process, businesses have also met the digitalization process very quickly and almost unpreparedly. In this context, the HRM of the businesses has started to experience digital transformation. With the digitalization of HR processes, digital conflicts have also emerged. Conflict management problems arising from digital transformation and the pandemic process, health problems, and cyber-attacks due to remote working have become one of the most important problems of the digital age. In this chapter, the issue of digital conflicts in HRM is discussed. In this context, first of all, the concept of digital conflict is included. Then, Industry 4.0, information technology and HR, the impact of information systems on digitalization and HR, digital transformation in HRM, opportunities, and threats arising from digitalization, and HR conflict management problems in the COVID-19 pandemic, collar change of employees during the pandemic, possible problems that may arise after the pandemic, future predictions, and strategic principles are mentioned.

We report three findings in a comprehensive study of hourly wage differences between women and men working in same occupation and establishment in Sweden in 1970–1990. (1) Within same occupation and establishment in 1990, women on average earn 1.4% less than men among blue-collar workers, 5.0% less among white-collar employees. This occupation-establishment level wage gap declined strongly from 1970 to 1978. (2) For white-collar employees, occupational segregation accounts for much of the wage gap, establishment segregation for little. For blue-collar workers both types of segregation are important. (3) The within-occupation gaps are small, below 4% and 7% for blue- and white-collar workers.

Influential research has posited that empirical investigation provides no evidence for the existence of white-collar/successful psychopaths. The purpose of this current paper is to review evidence for their existence and report on new, primary research that examines ethical outcomes associated with their presence.

Leading psychopathy researchers called for research using samples of white-collar workers to explore workplace psychopathy. Therefore, the authors undertook a two-stage research process to examine this. Firstly, a structured literature review sought evidence for “corporate psychopaths”, “white-collar psychopaths” and “successful psychopaths” in existing literature. Secondly, original research was undertaken among 261 Australian workers to examine this further.

Findings indicate that white-collar psychopaths exist. Where they have been found not to exist, investigation reveals that the samples used were inadequate for the purpose of attempting to find them.

Although there is an inconsistent nomenclature, white-collar, industrial, successful, organisational, workplace or corporate psychopaths do exist and are found in white-collar workplaces.

Their existence is important because findings indicate that they have a significant, ethically malign and long-lasting impact on employee well-being and organisational ethical outcomes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is perhaps the first paper to specifically examine the literature for evidence of whether white-collar psychopaths exist. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first paper to determine that corporate psychopaths are linked with aggressive humour, gender discrimination, fake corporate social responsibility and reduced communications integration.

Job boredom is an amotivational state at work, where employees lack interest in their work activities and have difficulties concentrating on them. Although recent research suggests that job boredom may concern a wide range of industries, studies investigating the experience and its emergence in white-collar work are scarce. Thereby the purpose of this paper is to contextualize job boredom by exploring the experience and its preconditions in white-collar work.

This inductive, exploratory study employed data from 13 focus group interviews (n=72) in four organizations to investigate the emergence and experience of job boredom.

Three types of job boredom was found. Each type involved distinct temporal experiences: inertia, acceleration and disrupted rhythm at work. The findings suggest that different types of job boredom involve specific conditions that hamper the activation of individual capabilities and disrupt temporal experience accordingly.

Extending the conceptualization of job boredom may enable better understanding of the variety of consequences often associated with the phenomenon.

It is also important for organizations to recognize that there are different types and various preconditions of job boredom in white-collar work, as it may have a negative impact on employee well-being and performance.

The results indicate that job boredom is a more nuanced phenomenon than earlier believed. By identifying job boredom in white-collar work as an experience with various forms and respective preconditions, this study expands the understanding of the phenomenon and its emergence.