What is the evidence for determining whether or not work is done on an object?

Basically if the energy of the object has changed.

For example if you lift something off the ground you have applied a force through a distance in the same direction as the force. By lifting the box you have given it gravitational potential energy (mgh). If you drop the box then gravity does work because the force of gravity will apply a force through a distance in the same direction.

Just because there is force, doesn't mean work has been done. For example if you look at uniform circle motion even though there is a force, known as centripetal force, there is no work being done. This is because centripetal force is always perpendicular to velocity and only components of force parallel to the object can do work on it. We can tell no work has been done because the kinetic energy of the object remains the same (=1/2*m*v2).