put in work
To apply the necessary amount of effort and labor to accomplish something. The athlete's overnight success in the field has been met with a certain amount of scorn by those who have been putting in work for years on end to reach the same level of success. We have to put in work on the servers over the weekend in preparation for the software launch on Monday.
put in work
To perform labor or duties, as on a specified project: put in work on the plastering.