Difference between worker, workman, employee

A worker is a general term for anybody of either gender who is working at something. Where companies are involved, the term is more often used of junior personnel. Workers may work for themselves or for others. But the term applies equally, if rarely, to the managing director of a company or the prime minister when s/he is pulling out weeds in the garden at home. They are working.

A workman is a man who is working. The term is most often used of men engaged in manual labour although workmen may well be craftsmen, highly skilled at what they do. Again, a workman may be self-employed or may work for others.

An employee is someone, whether male or female, who is employed by someone else. The term usually, but not necessarily, implies a contract of employment and generally refers to someone in full-time employment with a company. It is more often used of junior personnel than senior staff.