Is It Coworker or Co-Worker?
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Is It Coworker or Co-Worker?
If you have a job, you probably have people you work with. But what should you call them?
Before you answer with something off the cuff, know that we are talking about the different spellings of coworker and co-worker. Which one is grammatically correct?
We have the answer in today’s post.
You Can’t Pick Your Coworkers, but You Can Choose Your Co-Worker Hyphenation
The shortest answer to the coworker versus co-worker discussion is that it’s a trick question: Both are valid as a noun that refers to someone else who works alongside you.
The spellings are different yet similar because both became common throughout the years. In other words, some teachers and editors prefer one version (and pass it on to their students or readers), while their colleagues prefer another. That means the decision of whether to write coworker or co-worker is often a matter of a writer’s choice.
If you can use either coworker or co-worker as you please, does it matter which one you apply? It probably doesn’t make a big difference, but we still have a recommendation to make.
How Should You Choose Between Coworker and Co-Worker?
If neither coworker nor co-worker seems particularly compelling to you, we will recommend you go with the hyphenated spelling, co-worker. As we point out in Rule 6 under Hyphens with Prefixes, writers will often hyphenate prefixes when they feel a word might be distracting without the punctuation. The word coworker might trip some readers who read it as leading with the word cow.
Choosing co-worker or coworker for your writing typically will not be a matter of a “right” or “wrong” spelling or word. Rather, your choice will come down to your own sense of writing style as well as your feel for your audience.
Usage might also be determined by formal or informal contexts. More-formal usage such as in books and reports might lean toward co-worker. Less-formal frameworks such as consumer blogs, text messages, and social media might opt for coworker simply because it may appear less formal, even if subtly. It also requires one less character for typing.
One last note before we go: As a concept, a co-worker differs from the action of co-working, which typically involves unaffiliated persons sharing a working space. When expressed as a verb, that word is typically hyphenated to help ensure clarity. Be sure to keep that in mind when considering the variations we’ve discussed.
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There are standard guidelines for when words are hyphenated, and rather than saying “you can use either as you please,” it’s best to consult a consistent, trusted source, and to follow that source’s decision. The most commonly cited spelling and hyphenation source is Merriam-Webster. If you’re writing for your company, locate and follow their style guide. Additionally, you’ve left out the standard progression for how time affects hyphenation: Initially, a term can begin as two words, then progress to a hyphenated form, and finally become unhyphenated. A useful example is “email”: Originally, it was “electronic mail,” and in time became shortened and hyphenated to “e-mail,” and now is standardized to “email.”
I’m somewhat disappointed; I expected the information in your newsletter to be a bit more modern, tailored to professional writing.
We express within the discussion that “if neither coworker nor co-worker seems particularly compelling to you, we will recommend you go with the hyphenated spelling, co-worker.”
We further point out that “usage might also be determined by formal or informal contexts. More-formal usage such as in books and reports might lean toward co-worker. Less-formal frameworks such as consumer blogs, text messages, and social media might opt for coworker simply because it may appear less formal, even if subtly.”
As a resource for applying good grammar in daily formal writing, we do take a resolute stance where we recognize that flexibility would not favor proper grammar within clear communication. In the case of “coworker” and “co-worker,” both uses are widespread, and choosing one over the other does not compromise understanding or grammar. It is a matter of preference, context, or immediate direction (e.g. a school or workplace style guide).
In the end, while good communication does rely on set rules, it also will evolve with certain linguistic changes and preferences as they might be increasingly accepted, as in your example of progression (email). When we at GrammarBook believe we would benefit from additional reinforcement concerning a style item, we often consult our two primary stylebooks for reference, The Chicago Manual of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook.
Well presented.
Okay, but I thought that when you capitalize a hyphenated word, as in the title of your post, you capitalized only the first half of the word, not the half after the hyphen. True?
Our post Capitalizing Titles says, “If a title includes a hyphenated compound, capitalize the first word. Capitalize the following word if it is a noun or a proper adjective or if it is equal in importance to the first word.” “Worker” is a noun, and it is equal in importance to “Co-.”