Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term
Egypt
Arabic Translation & L10n Professional
Native in: Arabic 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English
is what this is
[X hands the work order to Y, who makes a face as he reads it.]
X: Business must be picking up, huh? You weren't kidding—it really does get busy here at the end of the month.
Y: This is the end of the quarter, too. This is a big pain, is what this is.
X: What do you mean? That's a big sale. I mean, it's a lot of work to get all that loaded, but that's a good thing, right?
Y: It's a lot of work twice. Once when we load it up... and then again, when we unload it all next week.
| 4 +7 | emphasis |
B D Finch
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| 5 | explanation |
Terry Richards
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Aug 20, 2014 11:46: Edith Kelly changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): ael, Helena Chavarria, Edith Kelly
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Responses
emphasis
| agree |
Charles Davis
1 min
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Thanks Charles
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| agree |
BrigitteHilgner
7 mins
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Thanks Brigitte
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| agree |
Helena Chavarria
7 mins
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Thanks Helena
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| agree |
Edith Kelly
1 hr
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Thanks Edith
|
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: =is what this amounts to
1 hr
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Thanks Gallagy
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| neutral |
Terry Richards
: This is what I would have said with the context that is given but the extra context provided for another question shades the meaning a bit.
2 hrs
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It might shade the meaning of it being "a pain", but I don't think it changes the meaning of "is what this is" in the slightest.
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| agree |
Arabic & More
4 hrs
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Thanks Amel
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| agree |
Catherine Fitzsimons
22 hrs
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France
30 years in IT, Engineering degree.
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, US) 
Works in: French to English, English
explanation
The older/more experienced employee is explaining to the junior that this big order is not what it seems. Because of the dishonest practices of the salesman, they have to load a large order into a truck and then, the next week, it will be returned and they will have to put it away again. They will have to do a lot of work that is of no benefit to the company.
| neutral |
B D Finch
: I don't see how that changes the fact that this phrase just emphasises that it is a pain (i.e. a headache, nuisance ...)to do.
56 mins
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Discussion
If you want to know what this is, it's a big pain.
Of course, this changes the meaning slightly, but this is just to understand the unspoken intent behind the words.
Here's another example using the same structure:
Q: What's Sally doing?
A: Sally is making a big mess is what she's doing.
In other words: If you want to know what Sally is doing, she's making a big mess.
There is often a hint of sarcasm or anger in this structure. Imagine, for example, Sally's father is calling his wife to check on their daughter Sally. He asks an innocent question, but the wife is upset because Sally is making the house messy. The implication is: You might think that Sally is napping or quietly watching television, but what she is actually doing is making a huge mess.
Same thing with the example you provided. One might think it's a good thing to have more business and to make a big sale, but the truth is that this is actually a pain.
I don't actually know that the one worker is older but the additional context makes it clear that he has been working at the company for a long time and has seen this situation enough times to infer a pattern.
As I understand it two people have to load goods (presumably onto a lorry), take them to wherever they have to be taken and then delivered to whoever has ordered them. More money for the company, but more work for X and Y.