non-work
/ˌnɒnˈwɜːk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌnɑːnˈwɝːk/ (ame, ipa)
non-work — noun
1. the periods, activities, or aspects of life that fall outside one's paid job — f
the periods, activities, or aspects of life that fall outside one's paid job — for example, time spent with family, hobbies, rest, or running personal errands.
Pedro tries to keep non-work and his career as a nurse strictly separate.
contrast with work in same sentence
The survey asked employees how many hours of non-work they had each week.
collocation: hours of non-work
Antonia uses her non-work to volunteer at the animal shelter on Saturdays.
After the new policy, non-work for night-shift staff finally felt protected.
Hassan said that reading and cooking made up most of his non-work.
- free time
everyday equivalent; what most speakers actually say
- personal time
common in HR contexts; emphasises ownership of the hours
- leisure
broader; includes enjoyable activity, not just absence of work
- work
the direct opposite, used in the same formal contexts
文法句型
uncountable noun
用法筆記
Uncountable; never pluralised. Usually appears in formal HR, management, or work-life-balance writing rather than everyday speech, where speakers prefer 'free time', 'personal time', or 'time off'.
常見錯誤
non-work — adjective
1. describing an activity, period, conversation, or item that is separate from some
describing an activity, period, conversation, or item that is separate from someone's paid job and belongs to their personal life.
Nila keeps a second phone just for non-work calls from her family.
non-work + concrete noun (calls)
The team agreed not to send each other non-work messages after ten at night.
collocation: non-work messages / emails
Mert spent his non-work hours teaching his daughter how to ride a bike.
Karim avoided non-work topics during the interview to stay professional.
Pim joined a hiking group to make some non-work friends in the city.
- personal
the most natural everyday alternative
- private
stresses that the matter is not employer's business
- recreational
narrower; only for activities done for enjoyment
- work-related
the direct opposite, also attributive
- professional
emphasises the job-side of the contrast
文法句型
non-work + noun
用法筆記
Attributive only — sits before a noun (non-work hours, non-work email). It cannot follow a linking verb; saying 'the meeting was non-work' is unnatural. Use 'not work-related' or 'personal' in that position.