Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English

working hoursnoun [pl ] the time during the day when most people are at work and when shop/stores and offices are open: The call centre is staffed only during working hours.

.working'interestnoun [c] a share in a property, especially one that produces oil, gas, etc., that gives the owner the right to develop it and to receive a share of the profits from what is produced: The company has a 50% working interest in the oilfield.

.working'life noun [c,u]

the part of a person's life that they spend working: He spent his whole working life in publishing.

the total amount of time that a machine, a factory, etc., operates: These parts will need to be replaced several times during the machine's working life.

working capital flow

working .papernoun 1 [C] a report written by a group of people chosen to study an aspect of law, education, health, etc., for people to discuss

2 working papers [pl.] in the US, an official document that enables sb under 16 years old or born outside the US to have a job

.working'partner = active partner

'working,party = working group

.WorkingTime Di'rectivenoun [sing ] (HR) European Union rules, which have become law in many member countries, that limit the number of hours most employees can work to 48 a week, and say how much rest and holiday/vacation they should have

.working 'week [AmEalso 'workweek) noun [sing.]

the total number of hours or days worked in a week: The working week will be reduced from 37 to 35 hours.

.work in 'progress [especially BrE) (AmE usually .work in 'process) noun [c,U] (abbr WIP)

(Accounting) products that are only partly manufactured at the end of an accounting period, valued at the cost of the materials, labour and some regular costs (overheads): There are three levels of stock: raw materials, work in progress and finished goods.— Picture at working capital

a piece of work that may be shown to people or discussed with them but is not finished: a work-in- progress report

.work-life 'balance (alsospelled .work/life - (also .life-work 'balance, less frequent) noun [c, usually sing., u]

(HR) a situation when a person manages to spend the right amount of time at work and on their personal life: She cut her working hours to improve her work-life balance.

* workload /'W3:klaud; AmE 'w3:rkloud/ noun [C] the amount of work that has to be done by a particular person, organization or machine: a heavy workload о We have taken on extra staff to cope with the increased workload.

to cut/ease/increase/reduce/share a workload

workman /'W3:kman; AmE 'W3:rk-/ noun [c] (plural workmen /-man/)

a man who is employed to do physical work

(used with an adjective) a person who works in the way mentioned: a good/bad/poor workman

workmanlike /'W3:kmanlaik; AmE 'W3:rk-/ adjective

done, made, etc. in a skilful and thorough way: They've done a workmanlike job. о You agree to do the work in a good and workmanlike manner.

workmanship /'W3:kman.fip; AmE 'W3:rk-/ noun [U]

the skill with which sb makes sth, especially when this affects the way it looks or works: Our buyers insist on high standards of workmanship and materials, о A number of fatal accidents have been caused by shoddy (= bad) workmanship. О bad/faulty/good/poor/shoddy workmanship

'work measurementnoun [u](Production) a system for calculating how long a piece of work would take if done by an average qualified or trained person

609 work overload

.work 'overload noun [u] when a person has too much work: Work overload is one of the main causes of stress.