Measuring Work in Physics

Work is the dot product of force and displacement. In other words, the Work done is the force times the distance moved by an object in thedirection of the force. This is only correct if the force is constant.

Consequently, no work is done unless the object is displaced in some way. For example, if you hold a heavy object stationary there is no work done - there is no transfer energy to it - because there is no displacement.