Who is considered a colleague

As a teacher, I would refer to other teachers as my colleagues, but custodial staff, security, etc. Interestingly, I would not refer to our principal as a colleague OR a co-worker, as neither seems to be a good fit. I work in a hospital and a part of the administrative team. I consider that team my colleagues, because we are of the same rank. Everyone else is a co-worker. My colleagues would also be other administrative personnel in other industries. We are on the same level.

That is the true definition. I hear people say everyone is their colleague but that is incorrect. A co-worker is anyone who may work in and for the same company but has a different scope of work than what specific degreed colleagues would have assigned to them.

In that sense, a co-worker would be dissimilar to a colleague. It is not the person who makes for a co-worker or a colleague but the entire team assigned to a specific task. An example of this would be a surgical team where Doctors and Nurses all together assist the patient's medical outcome. At the point they are all working towards the same outcome then they are all colleagues.

This notion can and should be applied to all company, medical, educational etc. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Asked 6 years, 9 months ago. Active 2 years, 11 months ago. Viewed k times. What is the difference between "co-worker" and "colleague"?

In my company there is an employee whose name is Bob. But Bob and I, we don't know each other. In this case, is Bob my "co-worker" or "colleague" or both? In my team at work, there is Alice and we know each other and work together. Everyone works in the same profession and has a similar rank. They are not colleagues with their principal or headmaster.

A teacher and a principal are not equal in rank within the school. Coworker is an English term that adds the Latin suffix co- , which means together, to the term worker. Therefore, a coworker is someone you work with. Everyone who works together at the same place of business is a coworker regardless of their level. Is my boss my coworker?

You work with your boss on many of the same jobs and maybe even side-by-side on some projects. In fact, some jobs require that you work directly with your boss throughout the day. Does that mean everyone who works for the business or company or in the building is my coworker? Yes, as a general statement, all employees of any department are coworkers.

For example, if you work as a sales representative. Members of the IT team are also your coworkers. Both teams are employed by the same company. You may have never even communicated with some of your coworkers if the company or office is large. The gentleman or woman from the IT department that helps you fix connection issues is your coworker.

The accountant is also your coworker. These are people you see in the office every day, but you are not that close with them. The only common denominator is the law firm. If you are a physician, your colleagues are those people that you interact with daily. They are in the same rank, and you sometimes do surgeries together. Your coworkers in this case are the nurses. You are not that close, but you assist one another from time to time.

Notice how in some professions like medicine, coworkers work with each other more often because they are dealing with human lives.

Assuming that you work for an ad agency, the seo specialists and copywriters are your coworkers. A coworker who often shares the same job responsibilities and more or less the same salary as you. Your peers can be of the same age group, come from similar educational backgrounds, and can be doing the same work as you. You and your peer may share the same manager and many times, even share responsibilities at work.

It is common to see peers become your best friends at a workplace due to the similarities shared. When it comes to office promotions, you will more likely be competing with a peer in your team than a colleague from another department. As there are only a few open positions to move up the organization chart, it is up to managers to select the right candidates among their subordinates.