The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

hands \hands\ n.
   1. a person's power or discretionary action; as, my fate is
      in your hands.

   Syn: custody.
        [WordNet 1.5]

   2. The force of workers available; as, all hands on deck.

   Syn: work force, manpower, men.
        [WordNet 1.5]

              A dictionary containing a natural history requires
              too many hands, as well as too much time, ever to
              be hoped for.                       --Locke.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

hands
    n 1: (with `in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the
         right to house and care for and discipline a child; "my
         fate is in your hands"; "too much power in the president's
         hands"; "your guests are now in my custody"; "the mother
         was awarded custody of the children" [syn: hands,
         custody]
    2: the force of workers available [syn: work force,
       workforce, manpower, hands, men]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

41 Moby Thesaurus words for "hands":
   administration, authority, claws, clutches, command, control,
   disposition, domination, dominion, empery, empire, fighting force,
   firepower, forces, governance, government, grasp, grip, gripe,
   hand, helm, hold, iron hand, jurisdiction, mastership, mastery,
   men, personnel, power, raj, regnancy, reign, reins of government,
   rule, sovereignty, sway, talons, the big battalions, troops, units,
   work force