Blue-collar and white-collar:
Who can move, and who
feels stuck?

Our research with 10,181 workers across 15 countries reveals that the lines between blue- and white-collar work are blurring. For employers, this raises a broader question: what helps employees feel equipped to adapt as work changes, and what holds them back? 

The findings challenge familiar assumptions: 

• Only 18% of white-collar workers say finding an equally good job elsewhere within three months would be extremely easy, compared with 28% of blue-collar workers, despite reporting lower intent to leave. 

• 70% of blue-collar workers say staffing shortages have increased over the past year, and 58% have considered leaving because of increased shortages. 

• Access to development drops sharply from age 45 among blue-collar workers, raising questions about whose future employers continue investing in. 

Beyond collar colours: Building more mobile, secure and resilient workforces brings together workers’ own stories, Top Employers’ best practices and our own analysis to examine what these experiences mean for a more agile approach to HR. 

Five profiles. Different needs. Practical responses. 

Meet the Switchers, the Stuck White-Collar Professionals, the Stretched Blue-Collar Workers, the Experienced Blue-Collar Workers and the Entrants. These are overlapping experiences, rather than fixed employee categories, with practical guidance for each.

Download the report to explore how to: 

• Make mobility a leadership responsibility, recognising managers who develop talent for the wider organisation. 

• Create late-career pathways, combining continued development with redesigned roles and two-way learning. 

• Give stretched employees capacity to adapt, addressing workloads alongside protected time for learning and participation in change. 

Whether you employ mainly blue-collar workers, white-collar workers or both, discover approaches to supporting career security alongside job security, with implications for retention, redeployment and future skills.

Download the full report by filling out the form below.