Tied up at work, displaying ability (8)
I believe the answer is:
aptitude
'ability' is the definition.
(I know that ability is a type of skill)
'tied up at work' is the wordplay.
'work' indicates anagramming the letters.
'tied'+'up'+'at'='tiedupat'
'tiedupat' is an anagram of 'APTITUDE'.
'displaying' is the link.
(Other definitions for aptitude that I've seen before include "Natural ability or skill" , "faculty" , "Bent" , "Update it, having a relevant talent" , "fitness" .)