Through a first bibliographic search, the understanding and apprehension of the category of productive work will be deepened. From the findings and theoretical elaborations reached by Marx, the productive work and the process of generation of surplus value arouse a particular interest that leads to problematize the relationship of these two elements, placing them in the current context that presents the expansion and consolidation of the sector services, or the foreground of the tertiary sector as a driver of the global economy.