workload
gb/wˈɚklˌoʊd/ us/wˈɚklˌoʊd/
B1
English
~ 7800
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
quantity
1
amount of work to be done
How much work a person or group has to do in a certain time.
Usage pattern:
[someone]'s workload; a [adjective] workload
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "workload" with "workplace" (the physical place where you work) or "workflow" (the sequence or process of work). Another common mistake is saying *"a lot workload"* instead of *"a heavy workload"* or *"a large workload"*. Use adjectives like "heavy", "light", "increased", or "reduced" before "workload".
Synonyms
amount of work (More general and descriptive; does not carry the same typical HR or job‑related tone as "workload".)
Antonyms
light workload (Describes having relatively little work to do, the opposite of having a lot of work or a demanding workload.)
Collocations
heavy workload
|light workload
|manage your workload
|handle the workload
|reduce the workload
|increasing workload
Themes
work
|business
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Her workload has doubled since two colleagues left the team.
- We need to hire more staff to cope with the growing workload.
- Teachers are complaining about their increasing workload and long hours.
- I've been given an unrealistic workload for this month.
- To prevent burnout, the manager reviewed everyone's workload and reassigned some tasks.
Learner examples
- My workload is very heavy this week.
- He wants a job with a smaller workload.
- The new employee will help reduce our workload.
- Students often have a big workload before exams.
- She is stressed because her workload is too high.
Noun
technical
C1
quantity
2
amount of processing for a system
How much work a computer system or program has to do in a certain time.
Usage pattern:
system workload; workload on [a server]
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that "workload" in IT contexts is countable in the sense of measurement but not usually used in the plural (*"workloads"*) unless comparing different systems or types of work. For example: "The workloads on these two servers are very different."
Synonyms
processing load (More technical and specific to computing; usually not used for human tasks like "workload" is.)
Antonyms
idle time (Refers to periods when a system has no work to process, the opposite of having an active workload.)
Collocations
server workload
|system workload
|workload management
|workload balancing
|workload automation
|peak workload
Themes
technology
|computing
|business
|science
Examples
- The new server can handle a much higher workload than the old one.
- We moved part of the workload to the cloud to improve performance.
- During peak hours, the database workload increases dramatically.
- The team is working on tools for automated workload management.
- To avoid downtime, they distributed the workload across multiple data centers.
Learner examples
- This server has a very high workload during the day.
- We need another machine to share the workload.
- The program failed because the workload was too heavy.
- They use three servers to balance the workload.
- At night, the system workload is very low.
Grammar
Dictionary form
workload
IPA
GB/wˈɚklˌoʊd/
US/wˈɚklˌoʊd/
Syllables & stress
work - load (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (work)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: workload
- Plural: workload, workloads
Word family
Expressions
heavy workload
1/hˈɛvi wˈɚklˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
a lot of work to do
When a person has a lot of work to do, often more than is comfortable.
Examples
- She left the job because of the heavy workload and stress.
- Nurses often face a heavy workload during the winter months.
- The company hired more staff to reduce the heavy workload on the team.
light workload
1/lˈaɪt wˈɚklˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
not much work to do
When a person does not have very much work to do.
Examples
- It's the end of the semester, so the teachers finally have a light workload.
- He enjoys the light workload in his new job, even though the pay is lower.
- During the holiday season, our department usually has a light workload.
manage your workload
1/mˈænɪd͡ʒ jˈʊɹ wˈɚklˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
organize and control your work
To plan and organize your tasks so that you can finish your work without too much stress.
Examples
- If you learn to manage your workload better, you will feel less stressed.
- The course teaches students how to manage their workload during exams.
- Talk to your supervisor if you are struggling to manage your workload.
reduce the workload
1/ɹɪdˈus ðə wˈɚklˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
make the amount of work smaller
To make the amount of work smaller, usually to help people feel less tired or stressed.
Examples
- We hired an assistant to reduce the workload on the senior staff.
- Automating data entry can significantly reduce the workload.
- The manager reduced the workload for new employees during their first month.
share the workload
1/ʃˈɛɹ ðə wˈɚklˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
divide work among people
To divide the work so that more than one person helps to do it.
Examples
- If we share the workload, we can finish this project by Friday.
- Parents should share the workload of housework and childcare.
- The team agreed to share the workload more fairly.
spread the workload
1/spɹˈɛd ðə wˈɚklˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
distribute work more evenly
To move tasks to different people or times so that the work is more balanced.
Examples
- We need to spread the workload across the week instead of doing everything on Monday.
- The manager spread the workload among several teams to avoid burnout.
- To spread the workload, they rotated staff between busy and quiet departments.