Work Timothy is managing to start in hope (8)
I believe the answer is:
optimism
'hope' is the definition.
(optimism is being hopeful)
'work timothy is managing to start' is the wordplay.
'work' becomes 'op' (common abbreviation for 'opus').
'timothy' becomes 'tim' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to start' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'managing' is 'm'.
'op'+'tim'+'is'+'m'='OPTIMISM'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for optimism that I've seen before include "Looking on the bright side" , "Glass half-full attitude" , "Confidence in the future" , "Mind-frame that looks on the bright side" , "Confident outlook" .)