Earlier this month, debate raged over China Whisper's article positing the "new standards" of what it means to be a "white collar" worker in China. According to People's Daily, this term was brought from the West in the early 1990's to describe people who perform professional, managerial, or administrative work. The requirements to be such, according to the Chinese netizens questioned by China Whisper, include someone who earns a monthly salary of more than 20,000 RMB, works out regularly, owns a car worth at least 150,000 RMB, has a favourite fashion brand, and cares deeply about the environmental impact their lives have on the earth. This list, however, was obviously inflated to the point of being completely out of touch of what real Chinese people feel qualifies as "white collar." So what does the average Chinese worker consider "white collar"? Is it based solely on income? Job location? Prestige? And more importantly, do most Chinese citizens even want to be considered "white collar"?

Defining "white collar"
It appears that the concept of the "white collar" worker is a bit more practical than China Whisper's list would lead you to believe. However, it is clear that the concept of "white collar" is ever evolving here as business continues to develop. I spoke with Vivian Zhang, Steven Bian, and Marco Wu to get their thoughts on the qualifications for, and attitudes toward, being a "white collar" worker in China.

"For me," says Vivian Zhang, a 27 year old office worker, "being white collar means you work in a nice office and have a job with an average salary." All office jobs are not considered equal, however, as Zhang points out that she would not consider those who work in an office yet only make 2,000 RMB per month to be "white collar."

The entire concept of "white collar" workers vs. "blue collar" workers has changed in the last eight to ten years, believes Zhang, as more and more international companies have moved to this country and hire Chinese workers. "A decade ago, foreign companies were not so common – it was something new and exciting. International companies have different ideas, more open ideas, than local Chinese companies. So I think the whole idea of ‘white collar' came from that and got the reputation of just being a really cool job."

Steven Bian, a 43 year old audio engineer, agrees that an above average salary is required to be considered "white collar," but believes one need also have an above average position in the office in order to fully fit the title. "You must be an administrator of some kind," he says, "and have a lot of professional skills in the workplace." As society becomes more integrated, and "blue collar" workers realise that they can one day become "white collar" workers, Bian believes these prestigious positions will only become more valued in China.

Marco Wu, however, believes the term "white collar" refers more to a person's education level than to his or her salary. Wu, a 31 year old editor and translator, believes that someone with "a high degree of education and a lot of vacation time" qualifies as "white collar." As for society's general attitude towards such workers, Wu believes that they enjoyed their popularity and heyday for a while, but that the pendulum is already swinging back towards more "blue collar" workers. "We need workers of all professions to keep society running," he says, "and as more and more people abandoned technical professions, such as mechanics, for office work, these positions became empty. Now people are realising the need for these technical jobs and ‘white collar' workers are becoming less important."

Do Chinese really want this?

Now that attitudes defining "white collar" workers have been discussed, it begs the question – does the average Chinese worker even want to be defined as such? Surprisingly for some, the answer is decidedly mixed. "In about ten years or so, I believe the answer to that will be ‘yes,'" says Zhang. "But right now? I would have to say ‘no.' The most coveted position right now is in the government. People want government jobs so badly because if they work for an independent company and the company fails, they will lose their jobs. But if they work for the government, they don't need to be worried about anything – they have good pay and a lifelong contract. These days, people are more interested in stability."

Bian also believes that not everyone wants a "white collar" job. He feels that setting one's goal simply for such a job, and not pursuing one's passion, will not make anyone happy. "I just want to do what I want," he says, "and not worry about whether it's considered ‘white collar' or not." Zhang and Bian's views contrast sharply with Wu's, who says that basically everyone in China wants a "white collar" job. "They want the money, they want the comfort of sitting in an office, they want vacation time to spend with their families. I would say that for almost everyone in China, a ‘white collar' job is the perfect job."

New standards of a "white collar" job

In light of these new ideas as to what constitutes a "white collar" worker and how such a worker is viewed within Chinese society, perhaps a new top ten list is needed. I would fashion a list that looked more like this:

1. Works for a respected company (either local or foreign)
2. Has a high position within the company
3. Makes an above average salary
4. Has a solid and stable future in the company
5. Has an open mind
6. Can speak at least one foreign language
7. Knows basic office skills, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
8. Has either worked overseas or worked with overseas co-workers
9. Has a spirit of team work
10. Has a variety of workplace skills and is willing to work overtime to get the task done

Notice that this list has many more work-related items, including location (office), skills (Excel, Powerpoint, etc.), and experience (worked overseas). And while there are certainly still some social aspects to being "white collar" (open mind, spirit of teamwork, etc.), the consensus seems to be that this term largely identifies you as a worker, not as an entire person. You would still be considered a "white collar worker" if you meet the above criteria, even if you didn't work out regularly, or have a favourite fashion brand. For many workers, this may be taken as an encouraging sign, that what you do for a living does not necessarily define you in the eyes of those around you. This would truly be a progressive step towards accepting that all jobs are needed and all people who fill these jobs deserve respect and gratitude from the rest of us.

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Keywords: white collar worker China standard of living China office jobs China norms of middle class China average salaries China