Work is not effort — it is a force times the distance it acts through: $W = Fd$, W equals F d: the work $W$ in joules, the force $F$ in newtons, the distance $d$ in metres. No distance, no work: lean on a wall all afternoon and the wall owes you nothing.

The fine print is direction. Only the part of the push ALONG the motion counts — the full law is $W = Fd\cos\theta$ (W equals F d cosine theta, where $\theta$ — the Greek letter theta — is the angle between the push and the direction the thing actually moves), and in this lesson force and motion are aligned, so $\cos\theta = 1$ and the fine print sleeps. It wakes for the last question: a force at right angles to the motion has $\cos 90^\circ = 0$, so carrying a suitcase across a level floor does zero work on it. Carried is not worked.

And run the free check before any arithmetic: newtons times metres cancel to joules, so $W = Fd$ survives. Units guide the way — they don't confess.