How do I use “arbeiten an”?

Question

In a company flyer I just came across this formulation in a paragraph on quality management:

Wir arbeiten kontinuierlich an unseren Qualitätsdefiziten

It is obvious that they meant something like "We continuously work to overcome quality deficits".

Is the expression "arbeiten an" appropriate in this context?

Answer 1

"Arbeiten an" is used both for things you want to achieve:

Er arbeitet an einem Projekt.

... and things you want to overcome:

Er arbeitet an seinen Defiziten.

A quick glance at the Google results for "arbeiten an" indicates that the former usage is by far the most common, but both are correct.

Answer 2

Arbeiten an is best translated as working on. So literally it is "We continuously work on our quality deficits".

Answer 3

From the context it's pretty obvious what the writer means. Stylistically (and given this is taken from a company image brochure) though it would be better to write a clear and unambiguous sentence:

Wir arbeiten kontinuierlich daran, unsere Qualitätsdefizite zu beseitigen.

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_{Note: That company is obviously still working on their quality deficits. ;-)}