Introduction

The direct form of human existence as a person is labor activity. Activity is a form of active attitude to reality, aimed at achieving a consciously set goal. The main generatrix of activity is the vector "motive - goal". In the traditional concepts of classical psychology, there are three types of activity that genetically replace each other and coexist throughout the life path: play, learning, work. Although, as types of human activity, they have much in common, nevertheless, there are fundamental differences in terms of results, organization, and the specifics of motivation. For a person, labor is the main activity, because. it not only serves the other two species, but also ensures, through the creation of a socially significant product, the unity and solidity of human society, both in space and in time.

The concept of labor, its signs, estimated parameters of labor

In the most general definition, labor is an expedient and socially useful human activity that requires mental and mental stress. The Encyclopedic Dictionary defines labor as "an expedient human activity aimed at modifying and adapting natural objects to meet their needs." Labor is of decisive importance for the formation of the personality and its existence. The labor process unfolds in the sphere of material production. Through labor, a person, with the help of knowledge, skills, adapts the material environment to his needs and requirements. The components of labor are:

expedient activity (labor as a process and result) Physical labor (material products) and mental labor (ideal products);

the subject of labor (objects to which human activity is directed);

means of labor (tools with which labor is performed). Labor manual, mechanized and automated;

subject of labor (employee) Automated labor worker - operator;

The more meaningful and complex the work, the more often the skills and abilities of the worker appear as tools of labor. Each component of labor includes a psychological aspect, but the largest proportion of the psychological component falls on the labor process and the subject of labor. Labor is the main type of human activity, ensuring its survival as a species (F. Engels). Labor objective practical activity acts as the main determinant of human development. Personal abilities are objectified and materialized in tools and objects of labor. In the process of labor, creating a product, a person, as it were, “puts” physical and spiritual forces into it (labor skills and abilities, abilities and knowledge, strong-willed efforts and emotional attitude). They are “objectified”, i.e. in a hidden form they pass into the object, turning into special properties of the object generated by labor. In this materialized form, they are passed on to the next generations. For example, the discovery and then the creation of a steam engine "objectified" in itself the spiritual forces of its creators and "turned" into a property of the movement of mechanisms created on the principle of a steam engine. At the same time, the reverse process of “disobjectification” is also inherent in labor. The functions and properties of an object determine the development of a person's own abilities and skills. This means that in order to achieve success, a person, influencing an object, must comply with its own laws and properties, relying on them in its activity. For example, when mastering a car, a person must understand the principle of the engine (that is, “appropriate” the ideas and abilities of the creators) and develop the abilities and skills to use the car. Thus, by “disobjecting” the hidden spiritual and physical potential of the ancestors, the descendants move to a new level of development. In the goals, methods of carrying out activities, both the achievements of previous modern generations and the prospects for their use by future ones are fixed. This is how the progressive development of mankind is carried out. This is the social nature of labor.

In contrast to the productive behavior of animals, labor, as a specifically human activity, is characterized by awareness. This awareness from a psychological point of view is expressed in:

Conscious anticipation of a socially valuable result;

Awareness of the obligation to achieve a socially fixed goal;

Awareness of interpersonal production relations and dependencies.

The described social mechanism of labor has its own psychological structure. Within the framework of the psychology of work, the individual psychological, cognitive, personal and social aspects of work are studied.

As civilization develops, the labor process becomes more complex and differentiated, its collective character intensifies, and more complex social ties are formed. There is practically no absolutely individual form of labor. Even a purely individualized activity (for example, a writer writes a work) is saturated with a mass of necessary social contacts: tools, information, printing a book for readers - all these are socially determined aspects of the writer's activity. Thus, the next sign of labor is its social character. The most striking manifestation of this feature is the socially valuable product of labor. If the result obtained has no social value, then this activity is not of a labor nature.

Mastering the tools and products of labor with the help of deobjectification and appropriation of the abilities fixed in them goes through overcoming the contradictions between the socially determined method of deobjectification and the individual capabilities of the individual, between the current level of culture and production and the actual creative activity of the individual. The higher the level of culture of society, the more diverse the forms of human activity, the more universal and complex the abilities required for mastering this activity. However, this is not a straight line relationship. Individual personality traits affect the manifestation of her essence, and her own activity determines the direction, intensity and content of the activity. Therefore, another sign of labor is activity. Labor activity is carried out only with the active role of the individual himself. Activity, covering the entire content of mental life, is a process that has a subject-object direction and various forms. The result of human development is the emergence of forms of activity with new qualities arising from their social nature. Through activity, active action, the person and the work situation are connected (M.Ya.Basov).

Modern ideas about labor activity include its systemic characteristics (B.F. Lomov, V.D. Shadrikov, A.V. Karpov). Any work activity begins with the formation of a goal. Expediency is another sign of labor. The goal is what a person should ultimately receive in the course of activity. The purpose of the activity acts as a) a task (or the level of achievements that a person sets for himself); b) image (this is “the goal is the image”). In the first case, the leading factor is motivation, during which the personal meaning of the activity is established. In the second case, an idea is formed about the result of the activity and individual actions. The goal and result are evaluated from the side of qualitative and quantitative indicators.

A specific way to achieve the goal is a way of activity. Needs are the main energizing and activating force. The social and personal aspect is closely intertwined with the cognitive and psychophysiological. The characterization of a person's abilities in a concrete historical framework is an important point that determines the nature of work and the development of an individual. Labor activity is carried out purposefully with the activation of all higher mental functions of a person. It is the cognitive structure that constitutes the psychological basis of labor. A system-forming vector for ensuring purposefulness of activity is a motive - a goal. In the process of labor, mental, cerebral and muscular energy is consumed, the sense organs are activated, and multilevel nervous activity is carried out. In other words, all labor has a biological basis.

To assess the effectiveness of labor activity, the following parameters are used: productivity, quality, reliability.

The essence of labor and its features

Labor is a system consisting of three components: objects of labor, means of labor, and people as subjects of labor, transforming objects and products in the process of labor with the help of means of labor.

Means of labor is a thing or a set of things that a person places between himself and the object of labor and which serve for him as a conductor of influence on this object in order to obtain the necessary material benefits.

The means of labor include tools and a workplace. The effectiveness of labor is influenced by the totality of properties and parameters of the means of labor, properly adapted to a person or a team as a subject of labor. If there is no correspondence between the psychophysiological characteristics of a person and the parameters of the means of labor, the safe mode of operation is violated, the fatigue of the worker increases, etc. The parameters of the tools of labor depend on the achievements of scientific and technological progress, the financial capabilities of the enterprise to purchase new machinery and equipment, on the investment activity of the enterprise .

Working conditions are understood as a set of elements of the production environment that affect the functional state of a person, his performance, health, all aspects of his development, and above all, the attitude to work and its efficiency. Working conditions are formed in the process of production and are determined by the type and level of equipment, technology and organization of production.

Working conditions in the broad sense of the word are the level of technical equipment of production, the nature of technological processes, the current regime of work and rest, the socio-psychological climate in the workforce, the aesthetic environment at work, as well as working conditions in their traditional sense, that is, features and general the state of production facilities, sanitary and hygienic conditions, occupational hazard, the presence of work performed in adverse conditions.

There are socio-economic and production conditions of work. Socio-economic working conditions include all factors that affect the level of preparation of an employee for participation in labor, the restoration of the labor force (the level of education and the possibility of obtaining it, the possibility of a good rest, living conditions, etc.).

Production working conditions are all elements of the working environment that affect the employee in the process of work, his health and performance, and his attitude to work.

In accordance with the classification of the Research Institute of Labor, all elements that make up the concept of working conditions are combined into four groups:

Sanitary and hygienic, including microclimate, natural and climatic conditions, lighting, etc. They are closely related to the features of the equipment and technology used, with the organization of labor;

Psychophysiological, depending on the characteristics of the labor process and determined by the amount of expenditure of nervous and muscular energy of a person;

Aesthetic, forming the employee's attitude to working conditions, to the production environment and affecting energy costs in the labor process;

Socio-psychological, in particular the socio-psychological climate in the team, the state of labor discipline, leadership style, features of labor stimulation.

The object of labor is a substance of nature, a thing or a complex of things that a person influences in the process of labor with the help of means of labor in order to adapt them to meet personal and production needs. If they form the material basis of the product, then they are called basic materials, and if they contribute to the labor process itself or give the main material new properties, then they are called auxiliary materials. The objects of labor in a broad sense include everything that is sought, mined, processed, formed, namely: material resources, scientific knowledge, human society, etc.

The subject of labor can be an individual worker or a team. Since the means of labor and objects of labor are created by man, he is the main component of labor as a system.

A huge role belongs to the social and individual psychological characteristics of the labor collective and its members. Social characteristics include needs, motives, value orientations, goals and expectations, interpersonal relationships (including formal and informal), the socio-psychological climate in the team, etc.

The individual psychological characteristics of individual workers are personal needs, personal motives, the level of individual qualifications, specific professional knowledge and skills, skills, psychological and physiological personal qualities.

The automation of production that occurred as a result of scientific and technological progress did not subjugate man to technology, did not deprive him of his leading role in modern production. The cost of an employee, literally and figuratively, is growing faster than the cost of equipment. This is explained by the fact that in terms of the pace of the change of generations of equipment, it is now ahead of the change of generations of workers. The equipment becomes morally obsolete and is replaced by a new one, but a person remains, but he needs to acquire the qualities necessary for mastering a new generation of equipment. Therefore, the costs of training a worker, including his education, are not only commensurate, but also exceed the cost of production assets in prosperous firms in Western countries. A working man is a social wealth not only in the social but also in the economic sense. This increases the need for adaptation of man and means of production.

The subject of activity, or worker, is a system that has complex internal (mental) properties. These properties include an emotional attitude to work, a general sense of security in society, confidence in the future, temperamental characteristics, as well as the ability to organize the future result of an activity, to calculate options for achieving this result. The most important mental condition of activity is the image of the goal, which cannot always be clearly defined and the normative parameters of which do not always correspond to the ideas of the employee or group of workers about it, which is why the subject of labor sometimes pursues the wrong goal that was set for him. The conflict of goals can be caused by an insufficient level of professional consciousness, the inability of managers to clearly articulate the goal, and an insufficient level of education and qualifications of the employee. Psychologists distinguish three types of goals of professional activity: recognize (understand, evaluate, etc.), transform, find. It is easier to set goals for the practical transformation of material objects according to a well-defined technology. But people create not only material products, but also the inner world of other people, services, information, artistic images, streamline social processes - all these are areas of labor in the broad sense of the word. Psychological signs of labor are:

Mental anticipation of a valuable result;

Consciousness of the obligation to achieve it;

Possession of external and internal means of activity;

Orientation in interpersonal industrial relations.

These signs of labor can be used as a program for an expert assessment of the level of formation of a person as a subject of labor, which will reveal his strengths and weaknesses, the degree of suitability for work in a particular position, in a particular profession.

Topic 2. Basic concepts of labor

Labor and its main characteristics

Work- that is the expedient activity of people aimed at creating material and cultural values. Labor is the basis and an indispensable condition for the life of people. By influencing the natural environment, changing and adapting it to their needs, people not only ensure their existence, but also create conditions for the development and progress of society.

In any kind of human activity, two components can be distinguished. The first of them characterizes work performed according to a given technology, instruction, scheme, when the performer of the work does not introduce any elements of novelty into it, his own creativity. Such labor will be called initial, regulated or a-labor. The second component characterizes labor aimed at creating new spiritual or material goods, as well as new methods of production. This type of labor will be called innovative, creative or b-labor.

A typical example of activity in which a-labor predominates is the performance of a production operation by an assembler on a conveyor belt with a regulated rhythm. It is essential that in this case we are not talking about the abilities of the employee, but about the objective possibilities of their implementation. Not only low-skilled physical labor can be regulated. a-labor can be both physical and mental.

The work of inventors, innovators, scientists, teachers, doctors, engineers, production managers, entrepreneurs, etc. is predominantly creative. Art is rightly considered the highest manifestation of creativity, because it not only excludes repetition (copying), in addition, the product of creativity in this area is also individual, being a reflection of the personality of the author. There are cases when the same inventions and scientific discoveries were made independently and almost simultaneously by different people in different countries. In art, such situations are fundamentally impossible.

Both named types of labor participate in economic processes in two forms: living (functioning) labor and its results (past labor). At the same time, the products of b-labor are transferred not only in the form of things (including information carriers), but also through the system of education and upbringing. As a rule, the utility of the results of b-labor lasts much longer than the products of a-labor, and in many cases increases over time.

The direct labor of people is called a - labor or living labor. But at each stage of production, only a part of labor costs acts as a - labor, the other part is represented by the means of production - raw materials and materials, energy, tools, tools, production facilities. This part of labor is called materialized or past labor.

Objects of labor- this is all that labor is aimed at, which undergoes changes to acquire useful properties and thereby satisfy human needs.

Means of labor- this is what a person uses to influence the objects of labor. These include machines, mechanisms, tools, fixtures and other tools, as well as buildings and structures that create the necessary conditions for the effective use of these tools.

Technology- this is a way of influencing the objects of labor, the procedure for using tools.

As a result of the completion of the labor process, products of labor are formed - a substance, objects or other objects that have the necessary properties and are adapted to human needs. Signs characterizing the labor process.

The labor process is characterized by the following features:

1. The cost of human energy. This is the psychophysiological side of labor activity, expressed in the expenditure of energy of muscles, brain, nerves, human senses, determined by the degree of severity, the level of neuropsychological tension, and can cause such conditions as fatigue and weariness. From costs

human energy depends on the working capacity and health of a person and his development.

2. The interaction of the worker with the means of production and objects of labor. This is the organizational and technological aspect of labor activity. It is determined by the level of technical equipment of labor, the degree of mechanization and automation, the perfection of technology and automation of the workplace, the qualifications of the worker, the techniques and methods used by him. The organizational and technological parameters of the activity impose requirements on the special training of workers, on their qualification level.

3. The production interaction of workers with each other both horizontally (the relationship of participation in a single technological process) and vertically (the relationship between the leader and the subordinate) determines the organizational side of labor activity. It depends on the level of division and cooperation of labor, on the forms of labor organization - individual or collective, on employees, on the organizational and legal form of the enterprise (institution).

The objects of labor activity serve as the object of study of many scientific disciplines: physiology and psychology, labor statistics, labor law, etc. The diverse role of labor in the development of man and society is manifested to a great extent. In the process of labor, not only material values ​​are created to meet the needs of people, but also the workers themselves develop, acquire new skills, reveal their skills, replenish and enrich knowledge. The creative nature of labor finds its expression in the birth of new ideas, the emergence of progressive technologies, more advanced and highly productive tools, new types of products, materials, energy, which, in turn, lead to the development of needs.

Thus, the consequence of labor activity is, on the one hand, the saturation of the market with goods, services, cultural values, on the other hand, the progress of production, the emergence of new needs and their subsequent satisfaction.

There are various types of labor, all their diversity is classified according to the following criteria: by the content of labor, by the nature of labor, by the results of labor, by methods of attracting people to work.

Depending on the content of labor, there are the following types:

1) mental and physical labor;

2) simple and complex work. Simple labor is the work of an employee who does not have professional training and qualifications. Complex labor is the work of a skilled worker with a certain profession;

3) functional and professional work. Functional labor is characterized by a certain set of labor functions characteristic of a particular type of labor activity. Professional labor is a concretization of functional labor, forming a broad professional structure;

4) reproductive and creative labor. Reproductive labor is distinguished by the standardity of reproducible labor functions, its result is known in advance and does not carry anything new. Creative work is not characteristic of every worker, it is determined both by the level of education and qualifications of the worker, and the ability to innovate.

Depending on the nature of the work, there are:

1) concrete and abstract labor. Concrete labor is the labor of a specific worker who transforms an object of nature in order to give it a certain utility and create use value. Abstract labor is commensurable concrete labor, it abstracts from the qualitative heterogeneity of various functional types of labor, and creates the value of the commodity;

2) individual and collective work. Individual labor is the labor of a single worker or independent producer. Collective labor is the labor of a collective, a subdivision of an enterprise; it characterizes the form of cooperation of labor of workers;

3) private and public labor. Private labor is always a part of social labor, since it is social in nature and its results are equal to each other in value;

4) hired labor and self-employment. Wage labor occurs when a person is hired under an employment contract to the owner of the means of production to perform a certain set of labor functions in exchange for wages. Self-employment involves a situation where the owner of the means of production himself creates a job for himself.

Depending on the results of labor, the following types are distinguished:

1) living and past work. Living labor is the work of the worker, which is expended by him at a given moment in time. Past labor is embodied in such elements of the labor process as objects of labor and means of labor;

2) productive and unproductive labor. The result of productive labor is in-kind benefits, and the result of unproductive labor is social and spiritual benefits that are no less valuable and useful to society.

According to working conditions with varying degrees of regulation, there are:

1) stationary and mobile work;

2) light, moderate and hard work;

3) free and regulated labor.

According to the methods of attracting people to work, there are:

1) labor under non-economic coercion, when a person is included in the labor process under direct compulsion (slavery);

2) labor under economic compulsion, namely, to earn the necessary means of subsistence;

3) voluntary, free labor is a person's need to realize their own labor potential for the benefit of society, regardless of remuneration.

The means of labor also predetermine the division of labor into various types: manual, mechanized, automated, machine labor.

There are various types of labor, all their diversity is classified according to the following criteria: by the content of labor, by the nature of labor, by the results of labor, by methods of attracting people to work.

Depending on the content of labor, the following types of labor are distinguished:

1) mental and physical labor;

2) simple and complex work. Simple labor is the work of an employee who does not have professional training and qualifications. Complex labor is the work of a skilled worker with a certain profession;

3) functional and professional work. Functional labor is characterized by a certain set of labor functions characteristic of a particular type of labor activity. Professional labor is a concretization of functional labor, forming a broad professional structure;

4) reproductive and creative labor. Reproductive labor is distinguished by the standardity of reproducible labor functions, its result is known in advance and does not carry anything new. Creative work is not characteristic of every worker, it is determined both by the level of education and qualifications of the worker, and the ability to innovate.

Depending on the nature of the work, there are:

1) concrete and abstract labor. Concrete labor is the labor of a specific worker who transforms an object of nature in order to give it a certain utility and create use value. Abstract labor is commensurate concrete labor, it abstracts from the qualitative heterogeneity of various functional types of labor, and creates the value of the commodity;

2) individual and collective work. Individual labor is the labor of a single worker or independent producer. Collective labor is the labor of a team, a subdivision of an enterprise; it characterizes the form of cooperation of labor of workers;

3) private and public labor. Private labor is always a part of social labor, since it is social in nature and its results are equal to each other in value;

4) hired labor and self-employment. Wage labor occurs when a person is hired under an employment contract to the owner of the means of production to perform a certain set of labor functions in exchange for wages. Self-employment involves a situation where the owner of the means of production himself creates a job for himself.

Depending on the results of labor, the following types are distinguished:

1) living and past work. Living labor is the work of the worker, which is expended by him at a given moment in time. Past labor is embodied in such elements of the labor process as objects of labor and means of labor;

2) productive and unproductive labor. The result of productive labor is in-kind goods, and the result of unproductive labor is social and spiritual goods that are no less valuable and useful to society.

According to working conditions with varying degrees of regulation, there are:

1) stationary and mobile work;

2) light, moderate and hard work;

3) free and regulated labor.

According to the methods of attracting people to work, there are:

1) labor under non-economic coercion, when a person is included in the labor process under direct compulsion (slavery);

2) labor under economic compulsion, namely, to earn the necessary means of subsistence;

3) voluntary, free labor is a person's need to realize their own labor potential for the benefit of society, regardless of remuneration.

The means of labor also predetermine the division of labor into various types: manual, mechanized, automated, machine labor.

6. The essence of the organization of labor

Currently, the organization of labor at the enterprise is considered both in the narrow and in the broad sense. In a narrow sense, the structure of labor organization in an enterprise is characterized by its specific content, that is, by those elements that directly form it. In a broad sense, the organization of labor also includes those elements that are not mandatory, but due to various circumstances may be part of the organization of labor.

Therefore, the system of organizing ore at an enterprise in its narrow sense includes the following, mandatory for all manifestations, elements of labor organization:

1) division of labor, which is the separation and establishment of specific duties, functions and scope for each employee, group of employees and divisions of the enterprise;

2) labor cooperation, which consists in the formation and establishment of a certain system of production interconnection and interaction between workers, groups of workers and departments;

3) the organization of workplaces in a broad sense includes: the organization of the working meta and the organization of the maintenance of workplaces. The organization of the workplace involves equipping it with all the necessary means of production and the rational layout of all items of equipment in the workplace, based on the principle of ease of use. The organization of workplace services includes a system of interaction between the main and auxiliary workers, in which the main function of the auxiliary workers is to timely provide the workplace with everything necessary for the continuous fruitful work of the main workers;

4) techniques and methods of work are defined as ways of performing various types of work. Techniques and methods of work should ensure the performance of operations and functions at the lowest cost of all types of resources, including human effort. The progressiveness of techniques and methods of labor is also determined by the technology of production and the level of introduction of the achievements of science and technology into production;

5) establishment of labor standards. Labor standards are set for specific working conditions, and as these conditions change, they must be constantly reviewed in order to optimize the ratio of labor costs to its results. In addition, labor standards are the basis for an effective organization of production planning;

6) planning and accounting of labor are carried out to establish the necessary total labor costs, the optimal number of personnel and its dynamics, the calculation of the wage fund, and ultimately, to establish the correct proportions in labor costs;

7) creation of favorable working conditions, that is, a combination of factors of the working environment and the labor process that have a beneficial effect on the worker's performance and health (or at least do not worsen them).

The listed elements are mandatory for the effective organization of the ore. This is the minimum of elements that is the basis of the organization of labor in any enterprise.

The organization of labor in a broad interpretation, along with the listed elements, includes other elements, which include:

1) selection, training and advanced training of personnel of the enterprise includes: professional selection, vocational training, retraining of personnel;

2) establishment of forms, systems and amount of remuneration, development of incentive systems and responsibility for the results of work;

3) maintaining high labor discipline, labor activity and creative initiative.

The basis of human life is purposeful professional activity. It is at work that a person spends most of his time. Someone does it for their own satisfaction and enjoyment, others - for the material support of themselves and their families.

Theory: basic terms, definition of "labor"

Labor is a direction of human activity, the signs of which are expediency and creation.

The nature of labor is the qualitative characteristics of labor activity, which combine several types of labor into a group according to certain characteristics.

Forms of labor activity - a set of types of labor operations, the implementation of which requires energy costs, the use of mechanized or automated equipment and machine tools.

Classification of labor and characteristics of labor

In fact, there are a huge number of classifications of labor. This is explained by the fact that labor is a complex multidimensional socio-economic phenomenon.

Depending on the content, work is divided into:

Depending on the nature, the following types of work are distinguished:

• Concrete and abstract labor activity. Concrete labor is the labor of a single worker who transforms an object of nature in order to make it useful and create consumer value. Allows you to determine the productivity of labor at the enterprise level, to compare individual industries and Abstract labor - proportionate concrete labor, where the qualitative diversity of many functional types of labor activity fades into the background. Creates value for the product.
• Self-employment and self-employment include absolutely all types of labor activity carried out by a specific person-worker or a specific enterprise. Collective work - the work of a group of workers, personnel of the enterprise, its separate department.
• Private and public work activities. Social labor always consists of private labor, since the latter has a social character.
• Hired and self-employed types of labor. Hired labor activity is carried out on the basis of the conclusion between the employer and the employee of the contract. Self-employment implies the independent creation of an enterprise and the organization of the production process, when the owner of the production provides himself with a job.

Depending on the results of labor activity, it happens:

• Living and past work. Living labor is the work of a person, which he carries out at a given moment in time. The results of past labor activity are reflected in the objects and means of labor that were previously created by other workers and are products of production purpose.
• Productive labor and unproductive. The main difference is the form of the good being created. As a result of productive labor activity, in-kind benefits are created, and as a result of unproductive labor, social and spiritual benefits are created that are valuable and useful to the public.

Depending on the means of labor used in labor activity, there are:

Depending on the working conditions, it happens:

• Stationary and mobile work. It includes all types of labor that are determined by the specifics of the technological process and the varieties of goods produced.
• Light, medium and heavy work activities. Depends on the level of physical activity that the employee receives in the performance of certain functions.
• Free labor and regulated. It depends on the specific working conditions and the style of enterprise management.

Depending on the methods used to attract people, there are:

Basic forms of labor

Features of mental work

Mental work is an activity that requires the reception and processing of information data, the implementation of which occurs due to the activation of the thought process. Mental labor activity is characterized by a strong tension in the activity of the central nervous system. Also, there are cases when physical activity is necessary for the successful implementation of mental work.

Employees Who are they?

Mental workers include managers, operators, creative workers, medical workers, pupils and students.

Managerial work is performed by heads of organizations, enterprises, teachers. Feature: the minimum amount of time for information processing.

Creative professions include artists, painters, writers, composers, designers. Creative work is the most difficult kind of mental work.

Medical personnel are also considered intelligent, but only those specialties that involve constant contact with people - patients, and the performance of work requires increased responsibility, where a decision must be made as soon as possible, there is a shortage of the time factor.

The scientific work of school and university students requires the activation of memory, attention and perception.

Physical labor activity

Physical labor is carried out due to certain physical loads. A characteristic feature is the interaction of a human worker with the means of labor. In physical labor activity, a person is a part of the technological process and an executor of certain functions in the labor process.

Mental and physical labor activity: physiological differences

Mental and physical labor activity are interconnected and interdependent. Any mental work requires certain energy costs, just as physical work is impossible without the activation of the information component. For example, all types of manual labor require a person to activate both mental processes and physical activity. The difference lies in the fact that during physical labor activity energy consumption dominates, and during intellectual activity, the work of the brain.

Mental activity puts into action a greater number of nervous elements than physical, since mental work is complex, skilled, extensive and multifaceted.

Physical fatigue is more noticeable from physical activity than from mental labor. In addition, when fatigue sets in, physical work can be stopped, but mental activity cannot be stopped.

Manual occupations

Today, physical labor is more in demand, and it is much easier for skilled workers to find a job than for “intellectuals”. The shortage of labor leads to relatively high rates for the performance of work that requires physical effort. In addition, if heavy physical work is performed in conditions unfavorable to human health, increased payment is provided at the legislative level.

Light physical labor is done by: production workers who manage an automated process, attendants, seamstresses, agronomists, veterinarians, nurses, orderlies, industrial goods sellers, physical education instructors, sports section coaches, etc.

Professions with physical activity of moderate severity include: a machine operator in the woodworking and metalworking industry, a locksmith, a fitter, a surgeon, a chemist, a textile worker, a driver, a food industry worker, service personnel in the domestic and domestic sector and in the field of catering, a seller of goods for industrial purposes , railway worker, hoisting transport operator.

Professions with heavy physical loads include: a builder, almost all types of agricultural labor, a machine operator, a surface miner, a worker in the oil, gas, pulp and paper, woodworking industries, a metallurgist, a foundry worker, etc.

Professions with physical labor of increased severity include: an underground miner, a steelmaker, a wood cutter, a bricklayer, a concrete worker, an excavator, a loader of non-mechanized labor, a worker in the production of building materials (non-mechanized labor).

Labor functions

Labor performs the following functions:

• participates in the reproduction of goods (is one of the factors of production) aimed at meeting human needs;
• creates social wealth;
• contributes to the development of society;
• determines the development of scientific and technological progress and culture;
• participates in the formation of man;
• acts as a way of self-realization and self-expression of the individual.

The role of labor in human life

"Labor made a man from a monkey" - a familiar phrase, isn't it? It is in this phrase that a deep meaning is hidden, which reflects the greatest role of labor in the life of each of us.

Labor activity allows a person to become a personality, and personality - to be realized. Labor is the guarantor of development, acquisition of new knowledge, skills and experience.

What happens next? A person improves himself, acquires knowledge, experience, based on which he creates new goods, services, cultural values, provoking scientific and technological progress, causing new needs and fully satisfying them.