It should probably not even be called a work sample under the circumstances I describe, but rather just work.
For example, if I’m hiring a communicator, I could ask them to spend two hours on improving the text of a web page. That could be a typical actual work task at some point, but this “work sample” also creates immediate value. If the improvements are good, they could be published regardless of whether that person is hired or not. This is also why you would pay an applicant for those two hours.
A very simplified example, but I hope the point comes across. And like you mention, for some types of work such isolated tasks are much more prevalent.
It should probably not even be called a work sample under the circumstances I describe, but rather just work.
For example, if I’m hiring a communicator, I could ask them to spend two hours on improving the text of a web page. That could be a typical actual work task at some point, but this “work sample” also creates immediate value. If the improvements are good, they could be published regardless of whether that person is hired or not. This is also why you would pay an applicant for those two hours.
A very simplified example, but I hope the point comes across. And like you mention, for some types of work such isolated tasks are much more prevalent.