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work study

work study

1 4.1
A careful check of a job to find faster, easier ways to do it
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : estudio de trabajo
  • Second, l'm in charge of your work study program... ...but you'll not be treated differently... ...nor will you behave any different than my other 26 employees.

Examples

  • In the class, we learned how to perform a work study to improve workplace efficiency.

  • The company conducted a detailed work study to optimize their production process.

  • Thomas was at the radio station for his work study.

  • It's a... it's a work study program.

  • This is the best work study program you can find.

  • Your work study is in the housing office.

  • In 9, the authors develop a work study technique intended for behavioral observations.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The work study revealed that adjusting employee schedules could save valuable time.

Synonyms

motion study
vswork study
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A careful look at how a job is done to find faster, easier steps

is the general study of job efficiency rather than movement emphasis
time-and-motion study
vswork study
  • Specialized
6.0

People watch how workers do a job to find the fastest, easiest way to do it

is the broader systematic analysis of job efficiency in time and effort
time and motion study
vswork study
  • Specialized
5.5

A study that measures how long each part of a job takes to find a faster way

focuses broadly on overall job efficiency rather than part-by-part measurement
time-motion study
vswork study
  • Specialized
6.2

A careful timing of movements to find faster ways to do a job

is the wider systematic analysis not limited to movements alone
time study
vswork study
  • Specialized
5.3

A careful measure of how long a task takes to find faster ways to do it

is the comprehensive job analysis that covers both time and movement aspects

Antonyms

27 4.2

A situation when work wastes time, money or effort

How Detailed

time study
  • Specialized
5.3
work study
  • UK
1 4.1
observation
  • Specialized
57 3.2

Surface Forms

work study singular
work studies plural

Morphology

work + study

The noun-noun compound 'work study' literally combines 'work' (job tasks) and 'study' (systematic examination), so its meaning as a study of work methods is directly derivable from the constituents. Although it's a technical term in ergonomics/industrial engineering, the compositional structure follows a common cross-linguistic pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

The noun work study comes from a simple idea: people watched a worker doing a job, timing each move and taking notes as a study of the work. So a work study is a careful look at a job to find faster ways and save 'time and effort'.