Almost 200 years ago, scientists first introduced into economic terminology the concept of "living labor", considered as a purely subjective existence of labor, i.e. labor not as an object, but as a type of human activity (Fig. 1.3).

human activity- this is an active process in which its physical and mental potential is realized, influencing the means of labor on the object of labor to create material and spiritual benefits (goods and services) that satisfy personal and social needs.

At every moment of life, a person is in one of two phases (states) - activity or inactivity.

Inaction- a passive process associated with periods of recovery of working capacity (sleep, passive rest), as well as periods of forced (time of severe illness, detention, etc.) or voluntary inactivity (Fig. 1.4).

The term "activity" has a broad meaning. So, in English, the concept of "activity" corresponds to the word " activity", which is any kind of practical or cognitive activity. However, not all manifestations of human vital activity can be attributed to activity, which is the highest form of manifestation of human activity, which is regulated by consciousness and is directly dependent on its (subject) state. Activity- this is the internal (mental) and external (physical) activity of a person, regulated by a conscious goal ... The overwhelming majority of people's activities are carried out consciously, on the basis of internally reasoned motives.

Rice. 1.3. The relationship between the concepts of "labor" and "activity"

Rice. 1.4.

Work- this is an activity aimed at the production of certain socially useful (or, at least, consumed by society) products: material or spiritual, i.e. the concept of "activity" is broader than the concept of "labor", since not every activity can be labor.

At its core, activity acts as one of the forms of human existence, the process of manifestation of internal (mental) and external (physical) activity, aimed at satisfying any needs. Its elements are:

• subject, showing his activity (this is an individual person or any community of people, which is a holistic entity);
• an object, to which the activity is directed (object, person, phenomenon, to which the activity is directed);
• activity as a state that is a dynamic generator of activity.

Activity as social category reflects the material and objective transformation of the object, coupled with its spiritual comprehension in the form of a goal, plan, design, which makes it possible to activate it. Through activity, a person determines his place in life and asserts his social nature. Thus, true activity, as a rule, is associated with the transformation of reality and embraces physical, mental, and other forms of labor (mental activity, etc.).

In labor economics labor activity analyzed mainly in terms of performance functional role employee and is often identified only with production activities. It means, first of all, an expedient series of operations and functions, which, under certain conditions, leads to a predetermined result. Labor activity in this regard is characterized by the fact that it:

• connected with technological process;
• more professional qualities official duties employee than with personal characteristics;
• relatively rigidly regulated in time and space, algorithmized;
• is set by specific parameters, the ultimate goal (creation of material wealth, provision of various services, production of scientific ideas, accumulation and transmission of information, etc.), is predetermined.

Activity in the psychological and social sense is a form of the relationship of the individual with the surrounding social and natural environment, a form of the concrete existence of people in specific social conditions.

The changes in labor activity that economists more or less unanimously acknowledge are the following: a decline in employment in the manufacturing sector, feminization, an increase in temporary employment, an increase in the share skilled workers. Let's dwell on the latter in more detail.

In the world, there is an increase in the role of mental labor and a decrease in physical labor. Over the past 100 years, the share of physical labor in economically developed countries has decreased from 90 to 10%, and in the coming years, according to experts, it will drop to 5%. In 1990, workers in occupations predominantly of a creative type (specialists, administrative and managerial personnel, workers highest qualification etc.) in the USA, Japan, Great Britain, Germany accounted for 40 to 50% of the total number of employees, and by 2020 these figures will already amount to 55–60%, which is typical for the industrial type of development.

The process of crisis financial economic development world economy in the XXI century. on the basis of information and computer technology will lead to the creation of a qualitatively new civilization, the driving force of which will be not just labor and industry, but "knowledge - information - high tech – human resources" (knowledge economy - knowledge economy) and the transition to service in the broadest sense. Science and high technologies are no longer viewed as hostile to man and his natural environment, but are aimed at the formation of a resource-saving (eco-intelligent) economy, labor-saving production and electronic information culture.

Today, science and its result - knowledge - have already become a direct productive force. Knowledge is increasingly pushing the traditional factors of economic development (capital, labor, land) into the background and becoming the main source of social wealth. But knowledge cannot be torn off from its bearer - a person. It can be reasonably argued that today humanization and socialization of both the economy and society as a whole should be intensified. First place in sustainable development strategy modern society should occupy targets related to improving the health of the population, increasing active life expectancy, raising the level of education, developing science, and improving the quality of life in general.

The very concept of "production" as a form of manifestation of labor activity, traditionally associated with the creation of material wealth, is changing. In a post-industrial society, production should include:

• 1) spiritual production (building ideologies, education, art, science...);
• 2) production of orderliness of social processes (lawmaking, media, planning - economics, management of large socio-economic systems, etc.);
• 3) production of useful actions of service and self-service (life support of labor subjects, organization of labor activity, medical service, maintenance, improvement of ergatic systems ...);
• 4) material production (operational-gnostic - information processing, decision-making; operational-practical - organization of the workplace, organization of the social environment; operational self-organization of the subject of labor - transportation, management of means of labor, impact on objects of labor, etc.).

In a post-industrial society, information and knowledge, as modified forms of labor available to mass consumption, become a system-forming factor in the new social

Rice. 1.5. information age

It is believed that it was labor that predetermined the development of human civilization and separated it from the animal world. It is the tendency to conscious activity that helps people become the creators of their own destiny and seriously influence the world around them, changing it at their own discretion. In everyday life, we identify the concepts of work and labor, considering them synonyms. Are these categories really similar to each other, or is there a difference between them?

Work- the conscious activity of living beings, aimed at the transformation of matter, the satisfaction of physical and spiritual needs. In the process of labor, raw materials acquire new properties, old ideas acquire new content. In economics, this term is integral part factors of production and consists of objects and means of labor.
Work is a purposeful human activity, a natural and inalienable right, which consists in the production of material goods, the provision of services, the performance of tasks. Efforts are made precisely in order to get a tangible result that can either be calculated (production, construction, agriculture), or estimated speculatively (jurisprudence, programming, journalism).

Comparison of labor and work

So, the concepts have many similarities. What is the difference between labor and work? Both work and labor can be done on a voluntary basis or paid. It all depends on the status of the subject of legal relations and the conditions in which he is. At the same time, forced labor is prohibited, as well as forced labor, and criminal liability is provided for the exploitation of a person. Participants in legal relations are endowed with freedom of self-realization, which manifests itself in a conscious choice.
However, there are also differences between these categories. Firstly, the concept of “labor” is much broader: it includes, among other things, work. It can be paid for and carried out on a voluntary (compulsory) basis. Secondly, the word "work" is most often used in positive sense versus routine processes. Work, on the other hand, can act in a negative sense as a monotonous, daily task that must be carried out no matter what.
Labor is by no means always finished: it can continue indefinitely. This is eloquently evidenced by the myth of Sisyphus, who was punished by the gods for the eternal lifting of a stone uphill. At the same time, the work is aimed at the result, which must be either measurable or speculative. The word "work" is used exclusively in relation to a person. The concept of "labor" is also used in describing other representatives of the animal world (bees, monkeys, plants).

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between labor and work is as follows:

The scope of concepts. The meaning of the category "work" is wider than the concept of "work".
Final result. Work is always aimed at obtaining a specific benefit, while labor can be realized through a process (“Sisyphean labor”).
Personification. The concept of "labor", as a rule, can be applied to any living creatures (bee labor - collecting honey), while work can only be applied to humans.
Emotional coloring. In the mass consciousness, it is customary to call work routine actions that take a lot of time, and labor acts as creation, development, realization of goals and aspirations.
Presence/absence of payment. As a rule, work is carried out on a reimbursable basis and is synonymous with the position or vacancy held. Labor can be performed both involuntarily (slave, hard labor) and free of charge (socially useful, volunteer).

What is the difference between WORK and WORK? and got the best answer

Answer from Nikolay Lukshenko[guru]
Labor - this word is associated with difficulties and their conscious overcoming in the process of labor, more often - a creative process. Work - from the word "slave", the performance of assigned duties, often not associated with creativity. At present, no significance is attached to such a difference, the concepts have become, in principle, unambiguous. However, the word "workers" is used in the church, in Soviet times, in addition to the word Workers, the word Workers was also used, which equated the meaning of simply physical labor with intellectual, creative labor.

Answer from Stranger from the city[guru]
labor is when you do something and at the same time you strain, but you can work freebies ... (like me at the moment)

Answer from YOVETLANA ESKOVA[guru]
Labor - 1. Expedient human activity, work that requires mental or physical stress, the cost of physical or mental energy. // Labor force, muscular or nervous energy expended in the production of smth.
2. Effort, diligence aimed at achieving smth.
3. The result of activity, work, creation.
4. The name of the school subject.
Work - 1. Action by value. vb. : work.
2. What someone busy; occupation. // Circle of occupations, duties. // Type of labor, activity.
3. A place where someone works, serves.
4. Occupation, business, service as a source of income.
5. What is done, made, created; finished products. // Literary work on a scientific topic.
6. Quality or method of manufacture.
That is, labor is a broader concept that includes the concept of work

Answer from Yoman Sirotenko[guru]
Labor is voluntary, but work is compulsory.

Answer from Alexey[guru]
Work is a concept from physics, measured in joules. Labor is a social concept.

Answer from Alexander Schukin[guru]
To work means "for something," to work means "for someone."

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: What is the difference between WORK and WORK?

Modern linguistics has confirmed the ideas of the great thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries. that the language and way of thinking of the people are interconnected, that there is a close connection between the life of society and the language it speaks. Therefore, people's ideas about life, reality, their habits and ethical values, cultural attitudes (i.e., the picture of the world) are revealed and become clear when analyzing the meaning and compatibility of words that name objects and phenomena of both the external and internal world of a person (about linguistic picture of the world, see Grapes, No. 3, 2007). Such a linguistic analysis makes it possible to trace how the attitude to work in society has evolved since ancient times (which is impossible for sociological research) and even to shake enduring cultural myths, in particular, about the laziness of the Russian people.

In Russian, there are two basic verbs and two derivatives of their names with the meaning of labor activity - WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, which unite around themselves a diverse vocabulary that names the labor process, its varieties, parameters, assessment. WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, often acting as synonyms, express purposeful and useful for people, creative activity that requires effort, the ordinary purpose of which is to obtain funds for human life support. WORK, WORK are opposed to entertainment and play, as activities for the sake of pleasure. A sports game, playing sports can be called a WORK only if they have a professional status that provides a livelihood.

WORK and WORK, WORK and WORK are not full synonyms, there are meaningful and related compatibility differences between them, which are specific for the Russian language. These differences are described in the dictionaries of synonyms of the modern Russian language (for example, in the dictionary edited by Yu.D. Apresyan). WORK, WORK express ethically more significant and always positively evaluated labor activity, requiring intense human efforts, and WORK, WORK - more applied, utilitarian activity, which can be evaluated both positively and negatively. These meaningful differences explain the different compatibility of these words. One can "work honestly, perseveringly, conscientiously, selflessly", cf. also “selfless, noble work”, but the combinations (?) “work badly, dishonestly, dishonestly”, (?) “poor-quality, hack-work” look strange. The stylistically neutral verb WORK allows both types of compatibility (cf. “work well, selflessly, conscientiously // badly, dishonestly”, “selflessly // hacky work”).

For WORK, efforts, the activity itself, are in the foreground, therefore WORK is not analyzed, unlike WORK, in terms of the result, and for work, the result is important (cf.: “do, do the work”, but not “labor”). "A lot of work" means a lot of things to do; "A lot of work" characterizes the amount of effort expended. Actualization of the idea of ​​the result is also possible in derivative words that are formed from the verb WORK: “work out, develop, process, process something.” The usual goal of WORK - obtaining funds for the life support of a person - is expressed in derivative lexemes "earn, earn money" . WORK can be hired, forced (cf .: “give work”, “entrust work”, “work for someone”), for WORK and WORK these meanings are irrelevant (you can’t * “give work”, * “get work”, unlikely (?) to "work for anyone").

Differences in the compatibility of these words can only be explained historically, i.e. taking into account the historical memory of the modern Russian language, which reflects the ideas about the labor process of our ancestors. The differences are related to the etymology of these lexemes, which go back to the Indo-European *orbhos ‘slave’; *ter- ‘rub’ and common Slavonic *trudъ ‘heavy physical effort’ (see M. Vasmer . Etymological dictionary of the Russian language. M., 1986-1987), as well as with their history, reflected in the dictionaries of the Old Slavonic and Old Russian languages, in special studies of ancient Russian written monuments.

In the Dictionary of the Old Slavonic language of the X - XI centuries. all meanings of the verb WORK are interconnected and express forced, slave labor: 1) ‘to be in slavery’, 2) ‘to serve someone’, 3) ‘to work hard for someone’. The angle of the verb WORK During this period, the following meanings are noted: ‘make efforts’; 'suffer'; ‘lead an ascetic, martyr’s way of life’ (about monks and Orthodox ascetics); 'take care of somebody'; ‘tired, exhausted’ - and there is no meaning ‘work’. To designate labor activity at that time, the verb “delati” was also used, which gradually loses its generalized meaning, being used in modern Russian with a specific object (“do what”).

In the Dictionary of the Russian Language XI-XVII, in the Dictionary of I.I. Sreznevsky (“Materials for a Dictionary of the Old Russian Language”. St. Petersburg, 1893-1903) the main meaning of the verb WORK remains ‘to be in slavery, captivity, to be a slave’. Interpretations WORK fix a significant transformation of its semantic structure, the following main meanings are distinguished: ‘work, work’; 'take care'; 'try'; ‘make efforts’, ‘suffer’, ‘perform a feat’. The labor process, which forms the basis of human life, is presented in these transformations as a form of asceticism - through efforts, hardships and suffering. Often the verb WORK is used in relation to the ascetic life of monks. Wed Examples from hagiographic literature: “Brotherly cells are built by those who want to live and work in this monastery of the brethren.” “He was powerful in body and very strong, in labor he was courageous, as if he worked powerfully for two or for three.”

According to the Church Slavonic language and research by T.I. Vendina (see “From the Cyril and Methodius heritage in the language of Russian culture”, M., 2007), the idea of ​​suffering had a special meaning in the mind of a medieval person - it was comprehended as a kind of guarantee of human salvation. “A person “works himself” in the name of the Lord, therefore the vector of “labor” is directed upwards, from the life of the body (through suffering and torment) to the life of the spirit.” This is evidenced by many monuments of hagiography and patristic Orthodox literature (for example, the “Punishment” of Metropolitan Daniel, the “Instructions” of St. Theodosius of the Caves, the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh), in which labor as a form of human salvation is opposed to idleness. Compare: “No one will be a parasite, no one will be idle, there is idleness for all evil intercessors. For this reason, God first commanded Adam to do in paradise and keep paradise, after being expelled from there, in labor and sweat of his face, the Lord commanded him to eat bread, and even spoken to Adam, the former was spoken to all. And Jesus of the laziness of places from the place on foot, laboring for our salvation, gave us an image ”(from Metropolitan Daniel’s “Punishments”).

Labor that requires effort, associated with suffering, but free, aimed at a person (in the language, this is evidenced by the reflexive forms of the corresponding verbs - “to work oneself”) is perceived as an activity that determines the norms of human existence, as self-affirmation of the individual, the subject of activity. It is WORKING, WORKING in the research of the monuments of the Old Russian language of the XIII-XV centuries. are marked as the most frequent words in the generalized meaning of the labor process. WORK is used in relation to the life of not only monks and Orthodox ascetics, but also ordinary people with their daily concerns, while denoting free, not forced labor. The wide distribution of this verb is explained by the great influence of medieval monasteries on the development of Russian culture. In contrast to the Western European urban type of culture, Old Russian culture developed largely as a monastic culture, where the contradictions between the theological-church and everyday-practical levels of consciousness were removed in the form of covering various spheres of human activity with an ascetic monastic worldview. Historians and culturologists write about the influence of monastic culture on ancient Russian culture, this is also evidenced by the development of the content structure and the use of the words WORK, WORK. In subsequent historical periods, the emerging trend in their meaning and use will continue - from the nomination of physical effort, suffering to the development of a generalized meaning of labor activity, which, at the same time, has not lost its spiritual and moral meaning and is perceived as significant and valuable in modern Russian.

Words WORK , WORK, converging in meaning with the words WORK, WORK, in the process of the historical development of the language and society under the influence of Christian culture (cf. from The Teachings of Theodosius of the Caves: “After all, you have heard how Paul says ... “He who does not work, let him not eat” ” ) are gradually losing negative evaluation values ​​associated with forced, slave, unworthy work. WORK, WORK become in Russian a neutral means of denoting the everyday labor process and professional activity, while retaining some features of the meaning of hired work, for earnings, “in debt, need”. Development of the meaning of WORK from the expression of bondage hard work to a broad understanding of work as a natural form of human existence is accompanied by an expansion of the use of this verb to institutions (“The pharmacy works on Sundays”), mechanisms (“The TV does not work. The machine works silently”), individual organs of a living organism (“The heart works well” ). For WORK, such an expansion of meaning is not typical, it expresses only human activity.

Substantive changes similar to the verb WORK have been experienced by lexemes with the meaning of labor activity in many European languages. So, in German etymological dictionaries, the genetic connection of the verb arbeiten with the Slavic “work” in the meaning of “work like a slave” is noted. The all-German Arbeit in the meaning of ‘burden, need, hard physical labor’ under the influence of Christian ideas, losing a negative assessment, becomes a neutral designation of a person’s labor activity. But in none of the modern European languages, including Slavic, there is a verb similar to the verb WORK, which has preserved in the modern Russian language a sublime, spiritual, ethical assessment of the human labor process. It is unlikely that a lazy and passive people, as Western culturologists sometimes write about the Russian people, could preserve in their culture and language an elevated ethical understanding of the purpose of labor and not squander the spiritual and moral attitude towards it that originated with the adoption of Christianity and strengthened in the Middle Ages.

The history of two Russian verbs WORK and WORK (and the names WORK and WORK derived from them) imprinted in the language the formation of Orthodox work ethics. Orientation in the Middle Ages to the monastic ideal and in worldly life formed in Russia an understanding of the sanctity of labor as a general category of religious consciousness. Labor was considered a good deed, the basis of human morality, but only that labor that did not obscure main goal human life - the desire to "live in God", according to the Gospel commandments and did not lead to the victory of the material over the spiritual. Many domestic philosophers and historians note the lack of attention of Orthodox culture (as opposed to Catholic and Lutheran) to everyday work, to the so-called "average" level of culture. The fact that economic, professional and social issues of labor in Orthodoxy have traditionally been given less attention than spiritual issues, did not fail to take advantage of the Marxist socialists, whose teaching in the late XIX - early XX gained rapid and victorious dissemination in Russia, which led to an atheistic socialist revolution. .

You can often hear or read that it was socialism that exalted the moral significance of labor, placing it at the foundation of the economic system, raising labor to the pinnacle of moral achievement. Referring to the fact that the Soviet slogan and the principle “He who does not work, he does not eat” is a hidden quote from the New Testament (from the message of the Apostle Paul), sometimes they draw an analogy between the socialist and Christian attitudes towards work as moral achievement. Socialist rhetoric also seems to testify to the latter, cf.: “Glory to the working people! A hero of socialist labor, labor exploits, labor prowess, shock work, etc. Much has been written about the political and ideological side of this problem, about the double morality of that time. For example, A.I. Solzhenitsyn sharply opposed the high positive assessment of labor policy in the era of socialism, recalling the destruction of motivation to work, that “work under ‘socialism’ has become a sworn burden”, primarily for the peasantry, the forcible labor mobilization of townspeople, the difficult women's labor, etc., so that there is no need to dwell on this issue in detail. But we want to show - with the help of a linguistic analysis of socialist rhetoric - the fundamental differences in the socialist and Orthodox understanding of LABOR.

In the materials of the CPSU, official and newspaper texts of that period (giving preference to the lofty spiritual word WORK, moreover, an abstract noun, rather than a more specific verb), labor is spoken of as the highest and absolute value, the measure of the meaning of human life. Wed the slogan and task set at one of the congresses of the CPSU: "To contribute to the transformation of labor into the first vital need of every Soviet person!". Wed See also an excerpt from the materials of one of the party conferences, in which "participation in labor" appears as the ultimate goal of this process, as the highest value: "Participation in social labor became an integral part of the Soviet woman's lifestyle. Since 1970, 51% of workers and employees have been women. And although by the beginning of the 70s the process of attracting women to work in social production was basically completed, annually 2/3 of the newly involved in the production of citizens for the 70s and early 80s. were women. At present, almost all able-bodied women use their guaranteed right to work according to their ability.” The purpose of labor in official and journalistic texts of that time is determined “for the good of the motherland”, the parameters of labor are characterized - productivity, quality, volume, labor standards, socialist attitude to work, etc. But the specific labor producer himself, the subject of the labor process, the individual, when discussing labor plan acquires an instrumental function in an impersonal labor process. The instrumental function of a person is actualized by the terms of the political economy of socialism such as " labor resources, labor reserves. Socialist propaganda was aimed at forming an obedient producer, an impersonal “cog” in the system, at forming levers to control him as an instrument in a collective process, the purpose of which is connected with the veiled political and economic interests of those in power.

On the contrary, in Orthodoxy, labor, and not a person, performs an instrumental function, the goal of labor is a specific person, a working person. Labor is aimed at purifying the human soul from passions and vices, at perfecting a person and ascending to holiness. Therefore, as Ignaty Brianchaninov says, not any work is useful: “What does it mean work in the mind? It means to carry out the work of the monastery, as a punishment for one's sinfulness, in the hope of receiving forgiveness from God. If a person works “with vanity, with boasting, with the humiliation of others”, then “no matter how strong he is, long-term, useful for the monastery in a material sense, not only useless for the soul, but also harmful, as filling it with self-conceit, while which there is no place in the soul for any virtue.

As we saw above, analyzing the meaning and compatibility of the words WORK, LABOR, much of the highly moral and spiritual understanding of WORK by our ancestors entered the modern Russian language. “And although labor is no longer perceived as a martyrdom in the literary language or in dialects, its value is determined precisely by this ethical motivation ... Respect for selfless labor, despite all the hardships and suffering, forms the basis of human morality, forms the deep foundations of his attitude to life "(T.I. Vendina. "From the Cyril and Methodius heritage in the language of Russian culture").

Ideas about the fate of the words (and concepts) WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK in the Russian language would be incomplete if we do not consider the peculiarities of their use in journalism of the last, stormy and "market", 10 - 15 years. Language, as a living and sensitive organism, reacts to all changes in the socio-economic and moral sentiments of society. The political and socio-economic upheavals experienced by Russian society over the past two decades have led, in particular, to a decrease in the officiality of the mass media, an increase in the spontaneity of Russian public speech, a weakening of its norms, jargon, a flourishing language game, and the spread of reduced forms of expression. This could not but affect the use of the words in question. WORK with its sublime ethical potential in modern newspaper texts is often used ironically in relation to activities that are insignificant, useless and even illegal. For example: "One of the scammers, who worked part-time at the local police station, developed a new plan." Irony may arise contrary to the intentions of the author, who wants to give significance to the activity he is talking about with the help of the verb WORK. Therefore, in the reference book for deputies of the State Duma "The Culture of Parliamentary Speech" (1994), it is not recommended to use WORK in everyday speech , for example, to say “He works in the government apparatus”; “We have 20 people working in our department” (instead of it, it is advised to use the neutral verb WORK). Note that WORK in modern newspaper texts to refer to socially useless activities is often used without irony - WORK can be called any activity that is a source of income for the subject of the action or ordered by someone (Compare "They worked mainly in electric trains or at stations" - about professional beggars. "A professional worked here" - about the killer) . In the following example, irony arises as a result of a violation of the causal relationship between work and income: "People are divided into those who work and those who earn."

But modern man, as the heir to the culture of our ancestors, subtly feels the differences between WORK as a forced form of human existence and free, creative WORK. This is eloquently evidenced by excerpts from an article written in our crisis time: « Modern market, where every employee, every organization tries to turn products into a commodity, that is, to find a partner capable of exchange, is characterized by a stunningly high level of competition. Therefore, it is not easy to find someone who will agree to take your product, who will agree to recognize it as a commodity, who will encourage you - you worked, and not just worked, and will reward you with the equivalent of labor for your labors. And not every work can be fully translated into work: somewhere I made a mistake, somewhere I cheated, and more often the skill was not enough ... “Yes, and is it necessary to work?” - a crazy thought creeps in ... There is a temptation of hack work, then there is formal activity, performance of work and attempts to sell its results, passing off work as labor ... But they will only make up for me that part of the work that the buyer recognizes as labor. And there will be a lesson - work harder, work better” (A. Belkovsky, journalisti.ru). With these words, I conclude my reflections on the essence of WORK and WORK in the Russian language - the language of Russian culture.

Science has proven that the essence and evolution of man is connected with activity. Activity is a universal way to meet needs through an active, transformative relationship with the world. Activities aimed at the normal functioning of the human body in the environment is called vital activity.

Human life is studied by a variety of sciences. However, the basis of people's lives is economic activity, which goes through four stages: production - distribution - exchange - consumption of goods and services.

Production is the process of creating material and other goods, i.e. the impact of man on the objects and forces of nature in order to adapt them to meet certain needs.

We study 4 factors of production: labor, capital, land, entrepreneurial ability, the most important of which is labor. Labor is one of the activities. According to K. Marx, labor is the process of creating consumer values, i.e. goods that satisfy a specific human need.

Wise men of all times and peoples sang hymns to labor and the laboring man.

Aristotle: "The appointment of man in rational activity."

Aesop: "The true treasure for people is the ability to work."

Voltaire: "Work saves us from three evils: boredom, vice and want."

Leonardo da Vinci: "Glory is in the hands of labor."

Balzac: "Constant labor is the law of both art and life."

The main goals of human activity are:

material goods;

Power and glory;

spiritual perfection.

A set of qualitative personality traits that affect the result of activity reflects the concept of "labor potential", its components:

Ability to create social contacts;

Abilities and tasks;

Rationality of labor behavior;

Availability of knowledge, skills;

offer in the labor market.

The factors of the labor potential of the individual include: health, morality (work ethic), creativity, activity, education, professionalism, working time resources, etc.

Scientific research data indicate that indicators reflecting the state of the main components of labor activity Russian society, have declined over the years of market reforms. There is a deterioration in the health of the nation, a decline in the moral core of society, and a lack of work ethics. Creativity has been drastically reduced. By the number of inventions, publications, references in the scientific literature and, finally, by the number of Nobel laureates, the situation is not in favor of Russia. Of the total number of domestic inventions, less than 1% is patented abroad, in the USA this figure has reached 30%, in Switzerland - 40%. The share of different countries in the global fund of patents is: USA - 30%, Germany - 20%, Japan - 10%, France - 8%, Russia - 1.5%.

The level of Russia's creative potential is largely determined by low activity work force. It is interesting that LN Gumilyov studied the nature of activity most deeply and consistently. The scientist called the desire of a person for something new, for changing the familiar, traditional, “violation of inertia” passionarity (Latin passio - passion). L. N. Gumilyov emphasized that passionarity as a special energy state of a person applies not only to individual individuals, but also to large teams. According to the signs of passionarity and orientation of interests, the author of this concept proposed a classification of people. He identified such types as "philistines, vagabonds, criminals, business people, scientists, adventurers, prophets ...".

Today, the decline in the activity of the country's population is due to many reasons, including the lack of national ideas, the shift in value orientations, people's confusion in the new conditions, disappointment with reforms, and much more.

Problems and contradictions in education are noted. According to this indicator, we are significantly behind the world level. Particularly impressive are the changes in the educational level of the American workforce. By the beginning of 2000, about 83% of the total US adult population aged 25 years and older had completed secondary education, 24% had completed higher education. In 1996, 45,000 doctoral degrees and 406,000 master's degrees were awarded in the United States. By 2000, the average number of years of education for the able-bodied population reached 13 years, which is one year higher than the level high school. Thus, in terms of aggregate indicators of educational attainment, the American workforce is one of the most highly trained in the world. As for the professional and qualification structure of the labor force, by 2000 the share of those employed predominantly in mental labor (“white collars”) in the United States reached almost 60% of the economically active population. The proportion of people who predominantly do manual labor, which include workers of all skill levels and the so-called "service workers" (cooks, waiters, medical personnel, etc.), is slowly but steadily declining.

In the specialized literature, the quantitative aspect of our lag is most often reflected. But there is another side - differences in the degree of use of acquired knowledge in production. Until recently, only 10% of graduates of technical universities work in engineering specialties, and the rest - where necessary. This reduces the initial effectiveness of education.

Thus, the facts indicate that it is necessary to carry out targeted reforms that strengthen the labor potential of Russia. This applies to all forms of manifestation of labor potential.

This can be achieved only through the efforts of labor motivation and stimulation of active, creative, highly skilled labor.

The act of human activity includes the elements:

Subject (individual or group);

Means to achieve the goal (tools, experience, etc.);

Subject (what the activity is aimed at);

Result

Thus, activity is a form of manifestation of a human being and activity of a person. An activity makes sense if it brings results or satisfies one or another need of people.