While many people talk about the future of work, few are asking one key question: “What should work actually be?”
It seems as though work should be more than a routine process. It should be a way to create value for internal and external customers, partners, and others. It should involve problem-solving, creativity, and a continuous search for solutions that will help meet new needs.
In everyday circumstances, some things we think of as work are not in fact work in the scientific sense. For something to be considered work in physics, it must transfer energy or change its form. For example, if you push an object across the floor with a certain amount of force, you are doing some work. But, if you simply move the same object back and forth with that same amount of force, you are not doing any work.
If you take a closer look at the science of work, you will find that it involves the vector product (also called the dot product) of a force and a displacement. In order for an object to do work, the direction of the force must be parallel with the displacement.
A common way to measure work is in joules, the SI unit of energy. One joule of work equals the amount of force that moves an object a distance of d over a period of time dt. The unit of joule also has the same physical dimension as the unit of heat, and sometimes units typically reserved for heat and energy content are used as work measurements.
For an object to do work, it must be displaced by a conservative force that does not cause the object to change its velocity or rotation. If the object is merely displaced in a conservative field, the work done is equal to the change in its kinetic energy Ek corresponding to its linear and angular velocity, W =
In some cases, the direction of the force must be opposite to the displacement, in which case the work is negative. In other cases, the force must be applied for a long time to do any work. For example, it takes a lot of effort to lift 100 pounds one foot two times over. However, lifting the same weight over a short distance with a smaller force does not require as much work.
Another important point is that machines can sometimes do work for you, decreasing the amount of force that you must exert. For example, using a dolly to move boxes from one side of a room to the other requires less force than pushing them yourself. However, this does not reduce the total amount of work that is required.
Work can have a profound impact on our lives, not only changing the world around us but also changing who we are. It can provide structure during rocky periods in life and give you a reason to wake up in the morning. It can connect you to meaningful relationships and allow you to learn new skills. It can even provide a space for positive interactions with society.