INDEX:
1. to work for a company, person etc
2. to work independently and not for someone else
3. someone who works for a company or organization
4. all the people who work in a company, organization, or country
5. someone that you work with
6. when there are not enough people working in a company etc
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ JOB
↑ WORK
↑ BUSINESS
↑ COMPANY
↑ POSITION/RANK
↑ MANAGER
↑ IN CHARGE OF
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1. to work for a company, person etc
▷ work for /ˈwɜːʳk fɔːʳ/ [transitive verb not in passive]
to do work for a person, company, or organization :
▪ How long have you worked for Mr Jackson?
▪ My Dad’s been working for IBM for over twenty years.
work as something for
▪ Russell is working as a software developer for Microsoft.
▷ be employed /biː ɪmˈplɔɪd/ [verb phrase]
to work for a company or organization, especially when you have an official contract and a permanent job :
be employed by
▪ She was the first woman pilot to be employed by a commercial airline.
be employed in
▪ The number of people employed in the construction industry has been falling for many years.
▷ be on the payroll /biː ɒn ðə ˈpeɪrəʊl/ [verb phrase]
to officially work for a company or organization and to receive regular payments for your work :
▪ Just before the company closed in 1968, there were 300 people on the payroll.
be on the payroll of
▪ Ames exposed 34 intelligence agents on the payroll of the US or its allies.
▷ be on the staff /biː ɒn ðə ˈstɑːfǁ-ˈstæf/ [verb phrase]
to be one of the people who work for a company or organization, especially when you have a permanent job there :
▪ Police questioned everyone on the staff at the hotel.
be on the staff of
▪ Valerie has been on the staff of the French Department at Reading University since 1992.
▷ be with somebody /biː wɪð somebody/ [transitive verb] informal
to work for a company, especially a large well-known one :
▪ I believe he’s with Random House now.
▪ I used to be with the BBC, but then I got the chance of being a producer for Channel Four.
▷ employer /ɪmˈplɔɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
the person, company, or organization that you work for :
▪ We will need a reference from your last employer before we can send you a contract.
▪ She applied to her employer for a redundancy payment, but she was refused.
2. to work independently and not for someone else
▷ self-employed /ˌself ɪmˈplɔɪd◂/ [adjective]
someone who is self-employed does not have a job with one particular employer, but instead works independently and does work for many different people :
▪ Martin is a self-employed builder.
▪ Most fashion models are self-employed, and find work through agencies.
the self-employed
people who are self-employed
▪ The government gives generous tax allowances to the self-employed.
▷ have/run your own business /ˌhæv, ˌrʌn jɔːr əʊn ˈbɪznə̇s/ [verb phrase]
to own and manage a business, especially a small one such as a shop or restaurant :
▪ She runs her own business, making and selling hand-knitted clothes.
▪ It’s always been Maria’s ambition to have her own business.
set up your own business
begin running your own business
▪ People wanting to set up their own business should take expert financial advice.
▷ freelance /ˈfriːlɑːnsǁ-læns/ [adjective]
working for several different organizations instead of being employed by only one - use this especially about people such as writers, designers, and photographers :
freelance designer/journalist/photographer
▪ Jamie’s trying to earn a living as a freelance photographer.
freelance work/writing/photography etc
▪ Karen stayed at home while the children were small, and made a little money from freelance writing.
freelance [adverb]
▪ If you work freelance from home, your hours are completely flexible.
go freelance
start working freelance after being employed by one organization
▪ I’d built up a number of contacts in the world of graphic design, so in the end I went freelance.
▷ be your own boss /biː jɔːr ˌəʊn ˈbɒsǁ-ˈbɔːs/ [verb phrase] informal
to work independently and not be employed by other people, and therefore be able to decide by yourself what you should do :
▪ I’m not good at taking orders from anybody -- I prefer being my own boss.
▪ Jim sacrificed a television career to set up in business and be his own boss.
3. someone who works for a company or organization
▷ worker /ˈwɜːʳkəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who works for an organization but is not a manager :
▪ We need better communication between the management and the workers.
manual worker
someone who does physical work, for example in a factory, rather than working in an office
▪ The report shows that male manual workers earn twice as much as female workers.
post office/factory/office etc worker
▪ Tony was a retired post-office worker.
▪ Ambulance workers threatened to refuse all calls for twenty-four hours on New Year’s Eve.
skilled/unskilled worker
someone who has or does not have special skills
▪ Despite the high unemployment rate, there is a shortage of skilled workers in some sectors.
white-collar workers
people who work in offices, banks etc, rather than in factories or with their hands
▪ There is increasing social mobility among senior white collar workers, who are able to move quite rapidly between organizations.
blue collar workers
people who do unskilled or manual work
▪ The report showed that blue collar workers lost ten days a year due to ill health, compared with five days for white collar workers.
▷ employee /ɪmˈplɔɪ-iː, ˌemplɔɪˈiː/ [countable noun]
someone who has a job, especially a permanent job, with a particular company or organization :
▪ We are a multi-national corporation with 140,000 employees worldwide.
employee of
▪ Employees of American Airlines get generous reductions on the cost of flights.
▷ member of staff/staff member /ˌmembər əv ˈstɑːf, ˈstɑːf ˌmembəʳǁ-ˈstæf/ [noun phrase]
someone who is employed by a company, organization, school etc, along with other people :
▪ Training opportunities are available to all members of staff.
▪ At certain stages of a project, most staff members are expected to work additional hours when needed.
▪ Mr Vickers has been with the firm for forty years, and is their longest-serving member of staff.
senior/junior member of staff
▪ All employees have a formal annual interview with the senior member of staff responsible for their work.
4. all the people who work in a company, organization, or country
▷ staff /stɑːfǁstæf/ []
all the people who work in a company, organization, school etc :
▪ The staff were clearly worried about rumours of job losses.
library/office/hospital/security etc staff
▪ Our library staff will be happy to help if you are unable to find the book you want.
▪ Ford is looking for part-time sales staff.
join the staff
▪ In 1998, she joined the President’s personal staff in the White House.
▷ workforce /ˈwɜːʳkfɔːʳs/ [countable noun usually singular]
all the people that work in a country, industry, or large organization :
▪ Women make up 41% of the workforce.
▪ Cook began his cost-cutting campaign by getting rid of a third of his workforce.
▷ labour British /labor American /ˈleɪbəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
all the people that work in an industry or country, especially people whose jobs involve working with their hands, in factories etc rather than managing other people :
▪ Large-scale growth in this type of farming is limited by the climate and the high cost of labour.
skilled/unskilled labour
people who have or do not have special skills
▪ Many industries are reporting a shortage of skilled labor.
labour force
all the people who work or are available to work in a particular country or organization
▪ The labour force is growing at a rate of 4% a year.
cheap labour
people whose wages are very low
▪ Our produce prices cannot compete with those of Spain, with its cheap labour and sunshine.
▷ personnel /ˌpɜːʳsəˈnel/ [plural noun]
the people employed by a particular company, organization etc - used in official or business contexts :
▪ In the event of a fire, all personnel must report to the reception area.
▪ One of her responsibilities is recruiting highly trained personnel.
▷ manpower /ˈmænˌpaʊəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
all the workers that an employer or a country has available to do work :
▪ The police say they don’t have sufficient manpower to patrol the area.
▪ At the time there was a major shortage of trained manpower in computer science in the US.
manpower levels/resources/shortages etc
▪ The Commission was set up to look at the management of the manpower resources of the National Health Service.
5. someone that you work with
▷ colleague /ˈkɒliːgǁˈkɑː-/ [countable noun]
someone you work with - use this especially about people who do professional jobs in offices, schools, government etc :
▪ I’d like you to meet a colleague of mine, Jean-Michel Blanc from our Paris office.
▪ Jenny is a conscientious manager, very popular with her colleagues.
▷ workmate /ˈwɜːʳkmeɪt/ [countable noun]
someone you work with, especially someone who works closely with you and who you are friendly with :
▪ Having the support of close family, friends and workmates is important to us all.
▪ Kevin had come home really upset after a quarrel with a workmate.
▷ co-worker /ˈkəʊ ˌwɜːʳkəʳ/ [countable noun] especially American
someone you work with, especially someone who works closely with you or does a similar job :
▪ Wantz’s job is to teach employees how to handle difficult bosses and co-workers.
▪ The manual explains what to do if a co-worker is injured and in need of medical attention.
6. when there are not enough people working in a company etc
▷ be understaffed /biː ˌʌndəʳˈstɑːftǁ-ˈstæft/ [verb phrase]
a company or organization that is understaffed does not have enough people working in it because it cannot or will not employ more people :
▪ It’s crazy that unemployment is sky-high while so many companies are still understaffed.
▪ The few public health clinics that existed were filthy and understaffed.
▷ be short-staffed especially British also be short-handed especially American /biː ˌʃɔːʳt ˈstɑːftǁ-ˈstæft, biː ˌʃɔːʳt ˈhændə̇d/ [verb phrase]
to not have the number of people you need to do a job properly or on time, especially because some of the people who usually work are ill, on holiday etc :
▪ Schools in inner city areas are often short-staffed because the work is particularly stressful.
▪ After three hours, Mrs Morrison was told that her operation had been cancelled because the hospital was short-staffed.
▪ Let me know if you’re short-handed -- I’ll get a couple of the boys to help out.