Work is a scientific term that describes the transfer of energy via the application of force on an object. This can be done by a simple movement of the object, such as a car moving down a road or by compressing gas or even by causing an invisible motion in the particles inside a body.
It can also be done by causing the displacement of an object, such as a ball rolling down a hill or a person pushing a heavy weight. The amount of work that is done is a product of the magnitude of the force and the distance the object moves in the applied force’s direction.
In the simplest case, this equation shows the scalar product of force and displacement (d). However, it’s important to remember that both these quantities are vector quantities and the equation has no direction because of their nature as scalar products in the dot product.
The magnitude of the force is defined as the amplitude of the resulting change in an object’s position; this can be measured in units called joules. Each joule is equal to the amount of energy that is transferred by the application of a single newton force on an object.
One joule is equal to the amount of work that is done when a force of 1 newton is applied to an object and that object is moved a distance of one meter. This is why a car traveling at five miles per hour is said to travel 2.5 x 1010 m in two minutes.
It is also important to understand that not all movements are considered to be work, such as a person pushing a rigid brick wall and a book falling off of a table. This is because a man is only tiring himself by pushing a rigid wall, while a book that falls off of a table is doing work as a result of gravity.
There are three situations where work does not occur: 1. A person pushes a rigid brick wall without changing its position; 2. A truck that is stopped from going downhill by Superman, and 3. A string that is tied to an eraser.
It is essential for businesses to re-define work, which includes finding solutions to unmet needs and opportunities for employee engagement. This requires a culture and systems that support sustained creative opportunity identification, problem-solving, solution development and implementation. Ultimately, redefining work is about cultivating the capabilities of curiosity, imagination, creativity, intuition, empathy, and social intelligence in your employees.
