Definition of Work

Definition of Work

At the time of undertaking the analysis of the substantive work, it is important that prior to determining its meaning we carry out the exposition of its etymological origin. Specifically, this is found in Latin, and more exactly in the word tripalium .

The theoretical definition of the concept of workcan be analyzed from different perspectives. A basic approach presents this word as the assessment of the effort made by a human being . However, from the neoclassical perspective of economics , to mention another case by way of example, work consists of one of the three elements that determine all production , as happens with land and money .

In this way, and approaching what we all commonly understand as work, we can determine that this concept can be used in two very frequent ways. Thus, on the one hand, we refer to it as the action performed by a person who is busy carrying out a series of tasks or activities either physically or intellectually.

And on the other hand, we use this same term to refer to any occupation that a man or woman has outside their home for which they receive a monthly economic allowance. So, for example, we could use the following example: "Luisa has a job as a waitress in a downtown bar".

If you go back to remote ages, you can see that slavery predominated , a forced labor that occurs when one individual exercises subjection to another and prevents him from making decisions and acting with his own will. From the middle of the 19th century, levels of slavery began to fall and this modality was declared illegal . Since then, salaried work has become the most common form of employment.

This conception of the notion of work leads to the understanding that when an individual performs a certain productive activity he is rewarded with a salary , which is the price that is put into the work environment to the work he carries out. The employment relationship between the job seeker and the worker is conditioned and supported by different laws and agreements , although there are also cases in daily life of what is called black work (those hired illegally that allow exploitation and profit with Workers).

Other forms of employment that can be detected worldwide are self-employed productive work (through which the liberal professions and trade are exercised, for example), informal work of survival and servitude , among others.

Although the ad honorem work that does not suppose the concession of a monetary remuneration (generally realized with social or educational aims) is a reality, it is considered that the work is an activity that is carried out in exchange for an economic compensation . That is why there is a phrase that states that "work is what you would not do if you were not paid for it" .

However, in addition to all the above, we must emphasize that work is a noun that has many other meanings. In this way, it is also used to refer to what the place itself is where the development of the occupation takes place. An example could be this: "Miguel was not at home, he was at work".

And all this without forgetting that there is a series of expressions that use the concept that occupies us as a fundamental part. Thus, forced labor is also spoken of as those that are forced to perform and as part of their sentence the people who are in certain prisons.