Worker

A Worker is a human person who sells their labor under an employment contract (to perform paid tasks to an employer for wage remuneration).

• AKA: Economically Active Person, Employee, Wage Earner, Labor Force Participant.
• Context:
  • They can typically be a member of an Labor Force Population and a Working Household.
  • They can typically contribute to Economic Production through worker labor input and worker skill application.
  • They can typically receive Worker Compensation including worker base wage, worker benefit package, and worker performance incentive.
  • They can typically develop Worker Skill Set through worker training, worker education, and worker experience accumulation.
  • They can typically follow Worker Career Path through worker job progression and worker professional development.
  • They can typically experience Worker Employment Relationship with worker contractual obligations and worker workplace rights.
  • They can typically participate in Worker Labor Market through worker job search, worker job application, and worker employment negotiation.
  • They can typically be subject to Worker Performance Evaluation using worker productivity metrics and worker output assessment.
  • ...
  • They can often have a Career.
  • They can often join Worker Organizations such as worker unions, worker professional associations, and worker networking groups.
  • They can often experience Worker Job Transition through worker promotion, worker lateral move, or worker employer change.
  • They can often face Worker Employment Challenges including worker job insecurity, worker wage stagnation, and worker skill obsolescence.
  • They can often manage Worker-Life Balance between worker professional responsibility and worker personal commitment.
  • They can often develop Worker Professional Identity through worker occupational role and worker workplace culture.
  • They can often receive Worker Legal Protection through worker employment law, worker safety regulation, and worker discrimination prohibition.
  • They can often contribute to Worker Retirement System through worker pension contribution, worker retirement saving, and worker social security participation.
  • ...
  • They can range from being a Human Worker to being a Robot Worker.
  • They can range from being an Employed Worker to being an Unemployed Worker, based on their employment status.
  • They can range from being a High-Skill Worker, a Medium-Skill Worker or a Low-Skilled Worker, depending on their worker skill.
  • They can range from being a Talented Worker to being an Untalented Worker.
  • They can range from being an Individual Contributor Worker to being a Worker Manager.
  • They can range from being a Legal-Age Worker to being an Under-Age Worker (or an over-age worker).
  • They can range from being a Male Worker to being a Female Worker.
  • They can range from being a Uneducated Worker, to being a Less-Educated Worker to being an Educated Worker to being a Well-Educated Worker to being an Over-Educated Worker.
  • They can range from being a Service-Focused Worker to being a Production-Focused Worker, depending on their worker primary function and worker output type.
  • They can range from being a Underqualified Worker to being a Qualified Worker to being an Overqualified Worker.
  • They can range from being an American Worker, Californian Worker, Canadian Worker, Chinese Worker.
  • They can range from being a Full-Time Worker to being a Part-Time Worker, depending on their worker hour commitment and worker employment arrangement.
  • They can range from being a Permanent Worker to being a Temporary Worker, depending on their worker job stability and worker contract duration.
  • They can range from being a Onsite Worker to being a Remote Worker, depending on their worker work location and worker physical presence requirement.
  • They can range from being a Traditional Worker to being a Gig Worker, depending on their worker employment structure and worker job arrangement.
  • They can range from being a Manual Worker to being a Knowledge Worker, depending on their worker task type and worker cognitive requirement.
  • They can range from being a Junior Worker to being a Senior Worker, depending on their worker experience level and worker professional maturity.
  • They can range from being a Public Sector Worker to being a Private Sector Worker, depending on their worker employer type and worker organizational context.
  • They can range from being a Domestic Worker to being an International Worker, depending on their worker employment location relative to their worker country of origin.
  • They can range from being a Union Worker to being a Non-Union Worker, depending on their worker collective bargaining status and worker labor organization membership.
  • ...
  • They can have Worker Rights including worker fair treatment, worker safe workplace, and worker legal recourse.
  • They can have Worker Tax Obligations based on worker income level, worker tax jurisdiction, and worker employment classification.
  • They can have Worker Schedule with worker workday pattern, worker shift assignment, and worker time-off allowance.
  • They can have Worker Mobility across worker job change, worker location transfer, and worker career transition.
  • They can have Worker Identity Documents such as worker identification card, worker employment verification, and worker credential certification.
  • ...
  • They can be Worker Classified according to worker job category, worker skill level, and worker industry segment.
  • They can be Worker Managed through worker supervision structure, worker performance system, and worker organizational hierarchy.
  • They can be Worker Developed via worker training program, worker mentorship initiative, and worker career counseling.
  • They can be Worker Represented by worker advocate, worker union representative, or worker legal counsel.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Domain-Specific Workers, such as:
    • Healthcare Workers, such as nurses, pharmacists, or medical technicians.
    • Technology Workers, such as help desk technicians, network administrators, frontend developers, backend developers, or DevOps engineers.
    • Service Industry Workers, such as:
      • Retail Workers, such as sales associates, store managers, or merchandise planners.
      • Hospitality Workers, such as hotel receptionists, chefs, or event planners.
      • Customer Service Workers, such as call center representatives, technical support specialists, or customer experience managers.
    • Manufacturing/Production Workers, such as construction workers, agricultural workers.
    • Creative and Media Workers, such as graphic designers, writers, or musicians.
    • Public Service Workers, such as:
      • Armed Services Workers, such as infantry soldiers, aircraft pilots, or military engineers.
      • Public Service Workers, such as firefighters, postal workers, or sanitation workers.
    • Education Workers, such as:
      • K-12 Education Workers, such as elementary teachers, high school counselors, or school administrators.
      • Higher Education Workers, such as university professors, academic researchers, or college administrators.
      • Educational Support Workers, such as teaching assistants, school nurses, or educational technologists.
    • Transportation Workers, such as:
      • Ground Transportation Workers, such as truck drivers, train operators, or bus drivers.
      • Air Transportation Workers, such as flight attendants, air traffic controllers, or aircraft maintenance technicians.
      • Maritime Transportation Workers, such as ship captains, maritime engineers, or dock workers.
  • Skill-Level Workers, such as:
    • High-Skill Workers, such as:
      • Expert Workers, such as healthcare professionals, legal professionals, or software engineers.
      • High-Skill Software Development Workers, such as frontend developers, backend developers, or DevOps engineers.
    • Medium-Skill Workers, such as:
      • Medium-Skill Healthcare Workers, such as nurses, pharmacists, or medical technicians.
      • Medium-Skill Financial Services Workers, such as bank tellers, financial advisors, or investment analysts.
      • Creative Workers, such as graphic designers, writers, or musicians.
    • Entry-Level/Low-Skill Workers, such as:
      • Retail Workers, such as sales associates, store managers, or merchandise planners.
      • Hospitality Workers, such as hotel receptionists, chefs, or event planners.
      • Agricultural Workers, such as farm laborers, crop specialists, or livestock managers.
  • Environment Type Workers, such as:
    • Office-Based Workers, such as:
      • Knowledge Workers, such as ML engineers, data scientists, or research analysts.
      • IT Support Workers, such as help desk technicians, network administrators, or systems analysts.
      • Customer Service Workers, such as call center representatives, technical support specialists, or customer experience managers.
    • Field/Outdoor Workers, such as:
      • Construction Workers, such as carpenters, electricians, or plumbers.
      • Agricultural Workers, such as farm laborers, crop specialists, or livestock managers.
      • Public Service Workers, such as firefighters, postal workers, or sanitation workers.
    • Mobile Workers, such as:
      • Driver Workers, such as delivery drivers, taxi drivers, or ride-share drivers.
      • Logistics Workers, such as warehouse workers, logistics coordinators, or supply chain analysts.
    • Mixed-Environment Workers, such as:
      • Healthcare Workers, such as nurses, pharmacists, or medical technicians.
      • Retail Workers, such as sales associates, store managers, or merchandise planners.
      • Hospitality Workers, such as hotel receptionists, chefs, or event planners.
  • Employment Arrangement Workers, such as:
    • Standard Employment Workers, such as:
      • Full-Time Permanent Workers, such as corporate employees, government workers, or institutional staff members.
      • Part-Time Regular Workers, such as retail associates, adjunct faculty, or weekend caregivers.
    • Non-Standard Employment Workers, such as:
      • Temporary Workers, such as seasonal retail workers, temporary office staff, or project contractors.
      • Gig Economy Workers, such as ride-share drivers, food delivery couriers, or freelance creatives.
      • Independent Contractor Workers, such as consultants, freelance professionals, or self-employed service providers.
  • Career Stage Workers, such as:
    • Early Career Workers, such as:
      • Entry-Level Workers, such as recent graduates, junior staff members, or apprentices.
      • Trainee Workers, such as management trainees, resident physicians, or probationary employees.
    • Mid-Career Workers, such as:
      • Experienced Professional Workers, such as senior team members, department specialists, or established practitioners.
      • Career Transition Workers, such as industry changers, role shifters, or upskilled professionals.
    • Late Career Workers, such as:
      • Senior Expert Workers, such as veteran staff members, subject matter experts, or master craftspersons.
      • Pre-Retirement Workers, such as phased retirees, knowledge transfer specialists, or legacy system experts.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Volunteer, who works without wage compensation.
  • Economically Inactive Person, such as a retired person, Student and Unpaid Caregiver.
  • Capitalist, who owns rather than sells labor.
  • Worker Robot, which is not a person.
  • Business Owner, who operates their own enterprise rather than selling labor to employer.
  • Independent Entrepreneur, who assumes business risk rather than receiving guaranteed wage.
  • Investor, who receives investment return rather than labor compensation.
  • Hobbyist, who performs activity for personal enjoyment rather than economic necessity.
  • Unpaid Intern, who exchanges labor for experience rather than monetary compensation.
• See: Labor Force, Employment, Work Contract, Career Development, Job Market, Labor Participation Rate, Automatable Worker, Labor Rights, Worker Classification, Employee Benefits, Occupational Health and Safety, Workforce Management.

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References

2015

• http://www.techrepublic.com/article/not-everyone-needs-to-learn-to-code/
  • QUOTE: ... I'd argue that I learned just as much from woodshop and programming, two areas that stimulated my interest in problem solving and critical thinking, as I did from those years of calculus -- time that probably would have made me a more effective worker and citizen had they been applied to history, literature, or another discipline.

2013

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_labour
  • Wage labour (or wage labor in American English) is the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer, where the worker sells their labour under a formal or informal employment contract. These transactions usually occur in a labour market where wages are market determined. In exchange for the wages paid, the work product generally becomes the undifferentiated property of the employer, except for special cases such as the vesting of intellectual property patents in the United States where patent rights are usually vested in the original personal inventor. A wage labourer is a person whose primary means of income is from the selling of his or her labour in this way.

    In modern mixed economies such as those of the OECD countries, it is currently the dominant form of work arrangement. Although most work occurs following this structure, the wage work arrangements of CEOs, professional employees, and professional contract workers are sometimes conflated with class assignments, so that "wage labour" is considered to apply only to unskilled, semi-skilled or manual labour.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_labour#Types
  • The most common form of wage labour currently is ordinary direct, or "full-time", employment in which a free worker sells his or her labour for an indeterminate time (from a few years to the entire career of the worker), in return for a money-wage or salary and a continuing relationship with the employer which it does not in general offer contractors or other irregular staff. However, wage labour takes many other forms, and explicit as opposed to implicit (i.e. conditioned by local labour and tax law) contracts are not uncommon. Economic history shows a great variety of ways in which labour is traded and exchanged. The differences show up in the form of:
    • employment status: a worker could be employed full-time, part-time, or on a casual basis. He or she could be employed for example temporarily for a specific project only, or on a permanent basis. Part-time wage labour could combine with part-time self-employment. The worker could be employed also as an apprentice.
    • civil (legal) status: the worker could for example be a free citizen, an indentured labourer, the subject of forced labour (including some prison or army labour); a worker could be assigned by the political authorities to a task, they could be a semi-slave or a serf bound to the land who is hired out part of the time. So the labour might be performed on a more or less voluntary basis, or on a more or less involuntary basis, in which there are many gradations.
    • method of payment (remuneration or compensation). The work done could be paid "in cash" (a money-wage) or "in kind" (through receiving goods and/or services), or in the form of “piece rates” where the wage is directly dependent on how much the worker produces. In some cases, the worker might be paid in the form of credit used to buy goods and services, or in the form of stock options or shares in an enterprise.
    • method of hiring: the worker might engage in a labour-contract on his or her own initiative, or he or she might hire out their labour as part of a group. But he or she may also hire out their labour via an intermediary (such as an employment agency) to a third party. In this case, he or she is paid by the intermediary, but works for a third party which pays the intermediary. In some cases, labour is subcontracted several times, with several intermediaries. Another possibility is that the worker is assigned or posted to a job by a political authority, or that an agency hires out a worker to an enterprise together with means of production.

2012

• http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Glossary:Employee
  • An employee is a person who has a contract to carry out work for an employer and receives compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. Specific statistical domains use a more precise definition:
    • employee in Labour force survey (LFS) (surveyed from households)
    • employee in structural business statistics (SBS) (surveyed from enterprises)

2002

• http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=730
  • QUOTE:Economically active population comprises all persons of either sex who furnish the supply of labour for the production of economic goods and services as defined by the United Nations System of National Accounts during a specified time-reference period.

    The SNA (paras. 6.18 and 6.22) and Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 1, United Nations, 1998, Series M, No. 67, Rev. 1., define the economically active population ("usually active" or "currently active") comprising all persons of either sex above a specified age who furnish the supply of labour for the production of economic goods and services (employed and unemployed, including those seeking work for the first time), as defined by the System of National Accounts (SNA), during a specified time reference period. The economically active population may be related to the total population for the derivation of the crude participation rate, or, more appropriately, to the population above the age prescribed for the measurement of the economically active population. Production includes all individual or collective goods or services that are supplied to units other than their producers, or intended to be so supplied, including the production of goods or services used up in the process of producing such goods or services; the own-account production of all goods that are retained by their producers for their own final consumption or gross capital formation; the own-account production of housing services by owner-occupiers and of domestic and personal services produced by employing paid domestic staff. Not economically active population comprises the balance of the population.

1998

• http://www.statssa.gov.za/census01/census96/html/metadata/Docs/Dfntns.html
  • Defining terms and concepts is a controversial process. What appear, on the face of it, to be simple distinctions between, for example, urban and non-urban areas, or between employment and unemployment, can be the subject of hotly-contested debates. The definition attached to a household, or an economically-active person, can dramatically influence the manner in which the results of a census are reported and analysed.

1997

• George Carlin.
  • QUOTE: Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.

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