Work is a transfer of energy. It can change the potential energy of a mechanical system, the thermal energy in a thermal system, or the electrical energy in an electrical device. In more general systems work can also change the form of energy from one state to another, such as converting kinetic energy into heat or vice versa. Work is measured in SI units, such as the joule (J), named after English physicist James Prescott Joule. Non-SI units include the newton-metre, erg, watt-hour, and kilowatt hour. Work can also be expressed in terms of the distance travelled by an object, which is the product of the force exerted and the displacement.
In everyday circumstances, many of us don’t think of things we do as “work.” But in fact, almost everything you do in a day involves work. For example, if you climb into your car and set the ignition key to start, you are doing work. If you go to the grocery store and push a cart full of food down the aisle, you are doing work. Even if you sit on the couch all day watching TV, you are doing work.
It’s important to understand the concept of work in order to be successful at your job. The way you think about your work and the mindset you adopt can make a big difference in how much you enjoy your job and your life.
Work consists of three essential ingredients – force, displacement and cause. To do work, a force must be applied and it must displace an object. In addition, the force must be the cause of the displacement, meaning that the force caused the motion without being itself displaced. This can be a difficult concept to grasp when it comes to forces that act at an angle to the displacement, such as a tractor pulling a plow through the field, a freshman lifting a heavy backpack on her shoulders or an Olympian throwing the shot put.
What’s more, work is a scalar quantity, meaning that the amount of work done on an object can be expressed in terms of its magnitude (force multiplied by its distance). This makes sense because forces often exert themselves over an area, and it is only the portion of the force that actually causes a displacement that does any work.
A fundamental rethink of work is necessary to shift the future-of-work conversation away from fear and adversity (institutions versus individuals) toward hope and opportunity (where both win). To achieve this, organizations must cultivate and draw on intrinsic human capabilities for continuous creative identification and solving of unseen problems and opportunities.
Rather than reskilling workers to do different types of routine tasks, or training them to use new technology to complete the same tasks, or moving some standout employees into management or product design positions, it is time to redefine work itself. Only then will we see a future of work that delivers greater value to institutions and individuals alike, by continually identifying and addressing unmet needs and opportunities.