It was released on June 11, 2002, by Columbia Records as the lead single from the soundtrack album to the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which Beyoncé stars as Foxxy Cleopatra.

"Work It Out" has been parodied and covered on several live television programs, including American Idol and America's Best Dance Crew.

[3] Critically, the song was credited with marking Beyoncé's transition into the music scene as a solo artist, after fulfilling a career as the lead female vocalist of Destiny's Child.

[6][8] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Corporation, "Work It Out" is a moderately paced R&B, soul, and funk song.

[4][9] The song has been viewed as reminiscent of 1960s and 1970s funk and soul music, with Craig Seymour of Entertainment Weekly describing the tune as a "retro-thumper".

Duerden and John Mulvey of New Musical Express recognized that The Neptunes paid tribute to James Brown within the song.

[12][13] While making a reference to the fact that the song contains various elements of 1960s and 1970s musical styles, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine stated that "Work It Out" positioned Beyoncé as "an MTV generation Tina Turner".

[4] Spin echoed Cinquemani's sentiments by describing Beyoncé as "gritty and sultry", referencing Tina Turner.

[14] Beyoncé has additionally been described as "a 'Rock Steady'-era Aretha Franklin" because of the way she "ambitiously grunts, wails, and moans" on "Work It Out".

"Work It Out" indicated to Neal that Beyoncé was "ready to shed the 'but I'm still not yet a woman' vibe that's earned Destiny's Child multi-platinum status.

"[16] The song was considered a "good moment" on the film's soundtrack album by AllMusic's writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

[17] Erlewine called it "excellent" and favored it over the tracks of Survivor (2001), Destiny's Child's previous album.

[20] Rob Fitzpatrick of New Musical Express gave the song a mixed to positive review, writing that it sounds not only like a perfect imitation or replication of classic funk, but also like a derivation of various other sources and motifs.

[21] Yancey Strickler of Flak Magazine wrote that in "Work It Out", Beyoncé sounds like Pam Grier "taking five from the revolution to let her afro down.

Loose and funky (apologies for the overused terminology there, but 'Work It Out' practically defines it), the tune was Beyoncé declaring, 'I am woman, hear you drool.'

[23] However, the song lost to Erykah Badu and Common's "Love of My Life (Ode to Hip-Hop)" from the film Brown Sugar.

[31] In the video, Jeremiah Alexis takes on the role of the bassist in the background and Beyoncé singing up-front,[30] with the overall feel inspired by 1970s glamor and the introduction of pop and funk.

After performing a simple choreography, Beyoncé begins her verse by singing into a microphone that has her name written on it with sparkles, with the scenery of the shot being a stage with a colorful background, and scenes from Goldmember pieced throughout the video.

Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters reviewed the music video, stating: "The video offers up a standard-seeming series of body parts—eye, navel, huge hair—but at the same time emphasizes Beyoncé's frankly awesome power, recalling Aretha and especially Tina Turner as she snuggles up to the mic stand, her ferocious thighs revealed beneath a sequined miniskirt.

"[5] Fuchs added to her comment about Beyoncé's hoola-hooping skills, referring to them as "sensational" and stated that it gave the video "a giddy, gorgeous turn".

[33] Tamar Anitai of MTV News negatively reviewed Beyoncé's choice in hair-style as "two-tone, too-tight curls".

[42][43] Reviewing concert performances of the song, Mimi Valdés of Vibe called Beyoncé possessed, stating: "Tossing her head around, jerking her body, twirling the microphone stand, she's a new-millennium version of Tina Turner.