What exactly is an "information worker?" While the term has been widely used in business since the mid 1990s, its definition often differs significantly by organization. For this reason, we're offering our own clear and concise definition.

In a typical industry, there are three primary types of workers: transformational workers, task workers, and information workers. Any given employee might perform transformational, task, or information work, but it is often possible to classify an employee based on his or her primary source of value to the enterprise.

• Transformational workers perform the work of physically transforming raw material inputs into an output. Examples include an oil rig driller, automobile or airplane assembly worker, or kitchen chef.
• Task workers perform routine, structured tasks typically in a repeated manner. Examples include a customer service representative, insurance claims processor, or inside sales representative.
• Information workers perform non-routine, cognitive, or creative work that often requires both structured and unstructured information inputs from multiple sources – and that is not repeated throughout the course of the work day or work week. Examples include a product manager, sales executive, first line manager, CFO, or CIO.