BNET Business Dictionary

Business Definition for: Work

  • the expenditure of physical or mental energy to achieve a purposeful task. Work is usually performed by employees within organizations, where it involves completion of a particular activity that contributes to the achievement of organizational goals.

Wiktionary Definition for: Work

  • # uncountable labour Labour, employment, occupation, job.
  • Ex:''I go to '''work''' everyday.''
  • # uncountable effort Effort expended on a particular task.
  • Ex:''Holding a brick over your head is hard '''work'''.''
  • Ex:''It takes a lot of '''work''' to write a dictionary.''
  • # uncountable cattag Physics A measure of energy expended in moving an object; most commonly, force*distance. No work is done if the object does not move.
  • Ex:'''''Work''' is done against friction to drag a bag along the ground.''
  • # uncountable (''Thermodynamics'') A nonthermal First Law energy in transit between one form or repository and another. Also, a means of accomplishing such transit http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0004055 .
  • # countable A literary, artistic, or intellectual production.
  • Ex:''It is a '''work''' of art.''
  • # countable A person of importance.
  • Ex:''You are a piece of '''work'''.''
  • # uncountable The place where one is employed.
  • Ex:''He hasn't come home yet, he's still at '''work'''.''
  • # countable A fortification.
  • Ex:''William the Conqueror fortified many castles, throwing up new ramparts, bastions and all manner of '''work'''s.''
  • intransitive To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers.
  • Ex: ''He's working in a bar.''
  • transitive To effect by gradual degrees.
  • Ex:''He '''worked''' his way through the crowd.''
  • Ex:''The dye '''worked''' its way through.''
  • transitive To embroider with thread.
  • transitive To set into action.
  • Ex:''He '''worked''' the levers.''
  • transitive cattag Zymurgy To cause to ferment.
  • transitive To exhaust, by working (as a mine).
  • transitive To shape, form, or improve a material (as stone or metal).
  • transitive To operate in a certain place, area, or speciality.
  • Ex:''She '''works''' the night clubs.''
  • Ex:''The salesman '''works''' the Midwest.''
  • Ex:''This artist '''works''' mostly in acrylics.''
  • transitive To operate in or through; as, to work the phones.
  • transitive To provoke or excite; to influence.
  • Ex:''The rock musician '''worked''' the crowd of young girls into a frenzy.''
  • transitive To use or manipulate to one's advantage.
  • Ex:''She knows how to '''work''' the system.''
  • transitive To cause to happen or to occur as a consequence.
  • Ex:''I cannot '''work''' a miracle.''
  • transitive To cause to work.
  • Ex:''He is '''working''' his servants hard.''
  • intransitive To function correctly; to act as intended; to achieve the goal designed for.
  • Ex:''He pointed at the car and asked, "Does it '''work'''"?''
  • Ex:''He looked at the bottle of pain pills, wondering if they would '''work'''.''
  • Ex:''My plan didn't '''work'''.''
  • intransitive (''figuratively'') To influence.
  • Ex:''They '''worked''' on her to join the group.''
  • intransitive To effect by gradual degrees; as, to work into the earth.
  • intransitive To move in an agitated manner.
  • Ex:''His fingers '''worked''' with tension.''
  • intransitive To behave in a certain way when handled;
  • Ex:''This dough does not '''work''' easily.''
  • Ex:''The soft metal '''works''' well.''

Additional Resources

What Is a Results-Only Work Environment?
What Is a Results-Only Work Environment?RE: What Is a Results-Only Work Environment?I see a lot of plus points & benefits of ROWE as far as the Individual remains sincere & focused on his work whether its his personal or official work. The employee who works 8 to 5 tend...
Tags: Is-a Results Only Work Environment, Adopting ROWE
Discussion threads 2008-09-30
Protecting Your Work with Copyrights
Copyright is a form of legal protection for the creators of original works. It covers literature, plays and other written works; music; choreographed dances; paintings, illustrations, graphics and sculptural works; motion pictures; sound recordings; and architectural works. There are no forms to fill in and no fees to pay: Copyright...
Tags: copyright, intellectual property
Articles 2007-03-27
Finding Freelance Work
Freelancers depend upon their ingenuity and their networks to build and maintain a work pipeline. Often, a person pursues a freelance career because he has a particular skill that one client—maybe a past employer—finds valuable. However, an arrangement that depends on a relationship with one client doesn't offer long-term security....
Tags: Network, Client, Networking, Brand, Internet, Work, BNET Editorial
Articles 2007-11-08
Managing Pressure at Work
For many people, being part of the business world comes at a substantial personal cost: stress. "It's a high stress job," people often say, as if this testifies to the position's prestige. For people whose ability to cope is at crisis point, however, stress is no longer a matter of...
Tags: BNET Editorial, Workforce Management, Human Resources, Recruitment & Selection, Solution, Job, Stress
Articles 2007-10-05
Managing Work and Personal Life
Regardless of what your personal life entails, you need to know how to balance your work and life demands. Everyone who works is subject to pressure from the workplace that can impinge on personal time. In an always-on world, people can easily become more attentive to their jobs than the...
Tags: Professional development, Recruitment & Selection, BNET Editorial, career, workplace, job, budgeting, benefit, partnership, payment, Human Resources
Articles 2007-10-23
Get Work Done When You Work From Home
Get Work Done When You Work From HomeThe Bong are you kidding!?!Really I am no prude. The Xbox and Oprah might draw my attention, but "the Bong"!?! What sort of society do you live in?RE: Get Work Done When You Work From HomeYour comments about 'succombing to the bong' and...
Tags: Bong, Get Work, Work from Home
Discussion threads 2007-09-27
Managing Work and Personal Life
Managing Work and Personal LifeBalancing it life in generalA couple things that I've observed on work/life balance is that whatever your work is, you need to treat yourself as a living organism, and have a balanced diet, sleep, and physical exercise. So many people allow the excuse that they are...
Tags: Managing
Discussion threads 2007-10-25
Gen X is Unhappy at Work
Gen X is Unhappy at WorkGen X is ready for a changeI am in the same generation as you, we are now referred to as the J generation. In between the Boomers and Xs. I devoted more and more of my time to the Fortune company I worked for. I...
Tags: Generation X
Discussion threads 2008-05-15
Why Do Employers Tell Us When to Work?
Why Do Employers Tell Us When to Work?Flexiblity all the way baby!I think a structure definitely helps, but it needs to be flexible. As a working mother, I work full time, but do 1.5 days from home (which really means not being at desk at those hours, but checking...
Tags: Do Employer
Discussion threads 2008-07-08
What Is a Results-Only Work Environment?
A new management philosophy declares that giving employees complete control over their time is the best way to increase productivity in the workplace. How It Works As Ressler and Thompson put it in their book, “In a Results-Only Work Environment, people can do...
Tags: Team, Best Buy Co. Inc., Employee, Environment, Management Philosophy, ROWE, Team Management, Management, Lindsay Blakely, Results-Only Work Environment, Cali Ressler, Jody Thompson, Best Buy, BNET Briefing
Articles 2008-09-25
Volunteer Work When Unemployed: Should You Work for Free?
Laid-off executives are diving into volunteer work as a way to make new contacts, stay engaged, and eventually find paying work. But not every kind of volunteer work bestows the same benefits, and devoting too much time and energy to pro bono activities can actually hinder your search for a...
Tags: Job, Volunteer, MoneyWatch, Recruitment & Selection, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Volunteer Work, Volunteering, Job Hunting, Networking, Building Your Resume, Interviewing, Career Changers, Sabrina Zook, Caroline Ceniza-Levine, Ronald Katz, Tom McKee, Mark Brostoff, Melanie Damm, Jennifer Winn, Louise Tutelian
Articles 2009-10-27
Stop Working for Technology - Make It Work For You
Recently I did some executive education with high-potential managers from a large health care system. Not surprisingly these days, during the session as well as on breaks, and even when they were supposed to be working on tasks in groups, people were checking their messages, texting others, and doing work...
Tags: Interruption, Research Literature, E-mail, Performance Management, PDAs, Telecom & Utilities, Cellular Phones, Online Communications, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Handhelds, Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jeffrey Pfeffer
Blog posts 2009-07-22
Transcend Your Office: When Work's a Religious Experience
Transcend Your Office: When Work's a Religious ExperienceMental illness assertions aside...I enjoyed the mental illness thread, but it is utterly unworkable in this present culture. As a Zen Buddhist, my [i]religion[/i] does not impose such an unprovable dogma on me. There are times we use symbols as tools...
Tags: Microsoft Office, religion, Religious Experience
Discussion threads 2007-10-05
How High Gas Prices Might Help Your Work Situation
How High Gas Prices Might Help Your Work SituationRE: How High Gas Prices Might Help Your Work SituationI currently work 3-4 days a week from home, commuting 70 miles each way only on Fridays and for special meetings. It has worked out very well, the company saves on average $120/...
Tags: Gas Prices, high Gas Price
Discussion threads 2008-08-01
The Top 10 Reasons to Work from Home
Tired of the office rat race? Maybe it's time to think about working from home, at least occasionally. You probably already know the pitch you can give your boss: You'll be more productive no time wasted on commuting and fewer distractions; you'll save him money less overhead;...
Tags: Home, Chances, CC Holland
Blog posts 2009-04-03
Why National Work and Family Month is Important to Productivity
More and more people are finding themselves sandwiched between caring for children and aging parents, all while maintaining demanding full-time jobs. What's more, a lot of people are finding their productivity decreasing and health suffering as a result of working long hours. Fortune Magazine predicted in 2003 that work-life...
Tags: Lori Deschene, Marketing, Channel Management, Company Intranet, Family, Employee
Blog posts 2007-10-03
Work-Life Balance Key for Both Sexes, But Women Weigh It Differently
There's no shortage of surveys showing that work-life balance is key to office morale. A survey conducted by Monster last month found that "only 29 percent of workers view their employer's work/life balance initiatives as good or excellent." It's a pretty low percentage and troubling as a survey out last...
Tags: Jessica Stillman, Human Resources, Gender And Diversity, Survey, Women
Blog posts 2007-12-10
Dealing with the Flu at Work
Dealing with the Flu at WorkDealing with the Flu at WorkOne the things we do at my job is alow our employee to stay home and rest. There was one occation that I had an employee that was ill she had the flu. So we diecided to give her...
Tags: flu
Discussion threads 2008-02-15
Unhappy Londoners Hate their Work
Londoners are the most miserable at work, says a survey by HireScores, a recruitment agency-scoring website. Over 70 per cent of the capital's workers are already thinking about getting a new job from day one, while only 11 per cent of employees in the south west are unhappy in their...
Tags: Job, London, Survey, Londoners, HireScores, Recruitment & Selection, Human Resources, Workforce Management, BNET UK Staff
Blog posts 2008-04-17
Maximum Work Flow, Minimal Head Count
How can you do more work with fewer people? It's easy. The recession has created a huge pool of eager part-time workers. Define the Skill Set GOAL: ESTABLISH PARAMETERS AND CREATE A PROFILE OF YOUR IDEAL CANDIDATE. ...
Tags: Contractor, Frederickson, Board Member, Corporate Governance, Business Operations, Corporate Law, BNET Crash Course, Freelance Workers, Contract Workers, Company Culture, Contractors, Marie C. Baca
Articles 2009-08-17
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