Work is a form of energy that can be transferred to or from an object. In physics, work is the product of a force and the distance it causes an object to move. For example, if you carry boxes from your car to the house, you are doing work. In contrast, reading a chapter of a book is not work because you are not applying any physical forces.
Work can be positive or negative and can happen at a constant or varying rate. It can also have a different direction than the force. For example, if you drop a pencil from your hand, it does more work than if you hold the pencil up to your head because it moves downwards. Work can also have the same direction as the force, for example, if you push yourself up from a chair, it does more work than when you hold your arms out in front of you because it moves up.
In the context of a business, work can be defined as the sustained creative pursuit of opportunities, problems, and solutions. This type of work is often referred to as “entrepreneurial” or “innovation” work. It is work that requires a significant amount of time and effort from employees to identify, address, and implement new initiatives. It can involve a variety of tasks including problem-solving, idea generation, and business development.
The term work can be used to describe any activity that a person or machine is engaged in to earn a living, such as manual labor or intellectual pursuits. It can also be used to refer to a career or profession and may include activities such as teaching, law enforcement, medicine, accounting, and engineering.
Other words for work include labor, labour, travail, drudgery, and grind. These words imply that the work is difficult or strenuous, and that it can be mentally or physically exhausting. They may also suggest that the work is stultifying, repetitive, or boring.
While an activity can be described as working, it can also be the opposite of work, which is relaxing or enjoyable. For example, playing sports or taking a vacation can be considered relaxing work, while cleaning the house or writing an essay can be considered work.
A force can do work if it is applied to an object over a distance, and the displacement caused by the force is proportional to the magnitude of the force. The work done is the amount of energy transferred to or from the object, and can be positive or negative. The SI unit for work and energy is the joule (J), which is equal to 1 newton-meter per second squared. The joule is named after the Scottish scientist James Prescott Joule, who first calculated it in 1840. He had the advantage of using a spring balance, which enabled him to measure the mechanical energy of an object precisely. This method became the standard for measuring mechanical energy until electronic devices made computer-based calculations commonplace.