Work

work (U) = the most general term for a physical and/or mental activity, i.e. what a person
does to earn a living, and the place where someone works. It is used as a verb or a noun
to say what a person’s job is.
I work as an actor.
She’s now looking for work.
I’m going back to work tomorrow.
Looking after children all day is hard work.
Note: works (C) opere, fabbriche, ingranaggi.

job / task (C) = a piece of work that a person does.

job = a particular set of duties which a person is paid to do. It also means an occupation, a
position, a post (often in official forms).
She’s now looking for a new job/ trying to get a new job.
Many women are in part-time jobs.
He’s just lost his job.
I’ve got various jobs around the house to do.
I’m not busy but I have a couple of jobs on at the moment.
He certainly knows his job = is very good at his job.
I’m only doing my job = I’m doing what I’m paid for.
He’s been out of job (=unemployed) for 6 months now.
He’s never had a steady job.
IDIOMS:
Do the job = be successful in doing what you want.
This device will do the job.
Jobs for the boys = somebody in power gives work to friends or relatives.

task is usually a small job which you may not enjoy and may not want to do. It can also
mean something important that must be done in order to achieve something bigger in the
future.
Our 1st task is to set up a communication system.
To perform/carry out/complete/undertake a task.
Getting hold of this information was not easy task = was difficult

labour (U) a particular form of work or method of working suggesting physical effort:
manual labour. I’m going back to work tomorrow.
I was trained as a builder so I’m used to manual labour.
The company wants to keep down labour costs.

toil (U) is a formal or literary word and means hard work over a long period of time.
A life of hardship and toil

position / post (C) are used instead of a job. When a job is advertised, it is often
described as a position or post.
He resigned from his post as finance director.
She holds a high-level position.
occupation (C) is a formal word, often used on official forms to mean job.
Please state your name, age, and occupation.

Profession and trade are both used to refer to types of job which require special training.
profession (C) is a type of job which requires advanced education and/or special, formal
training and which has fairly high status, for example the job of a doctor, teacher, or
lawyer. (U) You can also use profession to refer to all the people in a particular profession
(e.g. the legal, teaching or medical profession).
Her father discouraged her from going into the legal profession.

trade (C) is a type of skilled job, usually one which involves buying and selling things, or
exchanging services (e.g. the tourist trade, the building trade).
He works in the retail trade.

vocation (C) a profession or occupation, especially one to which a person is particularly

drawn or suited for.
She found her true vocation as a nurse.
Note: vocational (adj.) connected with the skills, knowledge, et. You need to do a
particular job. (vocational education/training / qualifications)

People may ask you about your job saying:

What do you do? I’m (+ job) an accountant/a clerk/secretary…

What’s your job? I work in (+ place or general area) bank/human resources…
What’s his job? He’s an analyst.
What do you do for a living? I work for (+ name of company) IBM, Union
Bank…

WORK-RELATED TERMS

employment (U) is a formal word with a similar meaning to work, and especially the state
of being employed. It is also used to talk about the number of people in a country or area
who have jobs.
The government is aiming at full employment.
Employment has risen among people over 55.

to employ means to give a job to do for payment.

A number of people has been employed as sales assistant.

business (U) is used to refer to work (an occupation or trade) that involves making,
buying, or selling things or services to make a profit
My brother's in the show business
Our firm does a lot of business with overseas customers
Eventually they found a consultant they felt they could do business with (= with whom they
could work well).Currently, there are fewer firms in business (= operating) in the area than
ever before.
This new tax will put a lot of small firms out of business (= they will stop operating).She set
up in business (= started her own company) as a management consultant.
(C) a commercial or industrial establishment; store, factory, firm, company, etc.
He runs two businesses in France.
responsibilities = your duties/what you have to do, or something about your daily routines
(what you do every day/week).

to be in charge of = to be responsible for

to run = to be in control of/to manage

He has no idea how to run a business.
The shareholders want more say in how the company is run.

work force or workforce, labour force or labour force = staff, the workers employed in
a specific project or activity; all the people working or available to work, as in a nation,
company, industry, or on a project.
Two thirds of the workforce is/are women.

manpower = the power of human physical strength; power in terms of the workers
available to a particular group or required for a particular task. We’re suffering a manpower
shortage.

hand = one who performs manual labour e.g. a factory hand.

staff (S/P)= the personnel who carry out a specific enterprise: the nursing staff of a
hospital.
We need a staff of 10.
I have 10 staff working for me.
The staff in this office is / are very helpful
to staff (usually passive) = to provide with a staff of workers or assistants.
This centre is staffed entirely by volunteers.
personnel = (C) the body of persons employed by or active in an organization, business,
or service.
Skilled/trained personnel
Sales/ technical/ medical/security personnel
(U) the department of Human Resources
She works in Personnel (HR).

pay = money given in return for work done; salary; wages.

Her job is hard work but the pay is good.
to pay = (formal) to give money in exchange for goods or services.

remuneration = (formal) amount of money paid for the work done .

They demanded adequate remuneration for their work

salary = fixed compensation for services, paid to a person on a regular basis, usually
monthly or fortnightly.
She’s on a salary of £24,000.
He gets a basic salary plus commission.

wage = payment for labour or services to a worker, especially remuneration on an hourly,

daily, or weekly basis or by the piece.
There are extra benefit for people on low wages.
white-collar worker = any person employed in professional or office work, and receiving a
salary.

blue-collar worker = any person employed in a trade or manual work, and receiving a
wage.

WORK WORD BANK EXERCISE (see M. Bait, Glossary of Business Terms,

Workplace Communication in Global Contexts, Arcipelago Edizioni, 2011).
Look at these sentences and try to complete them by putting an appropriate word in
the space provided.

1. There are many ways of referring to a person who works: a

____________________, an ______________________ or a member of
___________________.

2. Some people say they work for pleasure, but most work to __________________
money.

3. Most countries ask their workers to work a 40 hour week; any hours extra are paid
more and this is called working ____________________ .

4. If a company wants to work 24 hours a day, it asks its workers to work

___________________ .

5. When a company does well it often rewards its workers by giving them a
______________ .

6. When you are officially not required to work any more, usually at the age of 60 or
65, you can __________________ .

7. In some workplaces, there is a special machine which registers the time you
_________ ___ and the time you __________ ____ .

8. He used to _________ _____ IBM as a marketing manager.

9. She works _______________, doing translations for Brown & Sons.

10. Some workers often complain because they are ________________ and
underpaid.

11. Working in the accounting department is a boring ___________ .

12. ______________ were worried about rumours of job losses.

13 We will need a reference from your last __________________.

14. Ford workers threatened to go on _________________ .

15. He receives a weekly _____________ of $250.