Two Common Misperceptions About Blue Collar Workers and Management – Pt. 1

by Bart Gragg

Two common misperceptions about blue collar workers and managers are about how they learn and how they deal with people. The consequences of these misperceptions can certainly have an effect on how they are trained, especially when promoted “off the tools” into management.

Most people that have not dealt with or been a blue collar manager or worker think that these folks are kinesthetic learners and don’t know how to deal with people. While there is some truth to that, let’s look at what experience as both a worker, manager and consultant tell me we should really be aware of.

First, how they learn. Kinesthesia refers to the sensation of movement or strain in muscles, tendons, and joints; muscle sense. People that learn this way literally feel their way through an experience. So, while it is true they prefer to learn this way, learning by doing, there is another, broader way they learn. Instead of narrowing our thoughts of their learning styles, broaden them.

Blue collar people are primarily oral learners. They have not been steeped in textbooks, writing papers, etc. Their history is passed on through story telling. “Remember when Uncle Fuzz was out dynamiting fish that day? And he dropped the stick with the lit fuse?” And so the story goes in the bar, over a beer, at the barbecue, while fishing. You get the picture.

They get together and talk about things, creating a mental picture for their audience of co-workers and advice and experience, from which they all learn.

Which brings us to our next misperception – that blue collar workers and manager don’t know how to deal with people.

That will be the subject of my next post.

Bart Gragg

Blue Collar University – It’s What’s Above The Collar That Counts!