Many have a proclivity for working as chars (8)
I believe the answer is:
cleaning
'working as chars' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'many have a proclivity' is the wordplay.
'many' becomes 'c' (C is the Roman numeral for 100).
'have' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a proclivity' becomes 'leaning' (synonyms).
'c'+'leaning'='CLEANING'
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cleaning that I've seen before include "Washing, dusting" , "sponging, perhaps?" , "Removing dirt" , "Sanitising" , "Wiping" .)