Features of the direction of professional activity in a midlife crisis. Professional personality development

	Stage name	Basic psychological neoplasms stage
	Amorphous option (0–12 years)	Professionally oriented interests and inclinations
	Optional (12–16 years old)	Professional intentions, choice of vocational education and training path, educational and professional self-determination
	Vocational training (16–23 years)	Professional preparedness, professional self-determination, readiness for independent work
	Professional adaptation (18–25 years old)	Mastering a new social role, experience of independently performing professional activities, professionally important qualities
	Primary professionalization	Professional position, integrative professionally significant constellations (key qualifications), individual style of activity, skilled labor
	Secondary professionalization	Professional mentality, identification with the professional community, key competence, professional mobility, corporatism, flexible style of activity, highly qualified professional activity
	Professional excellence	Creative professional activity, mobile integrative psychological formations, self-design of one’s activities and career, the pinnacle (acme) of professional development

We examined the logic of professional development within one profession, however, according to the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation, up to 50% of workers change the profile of their professions during their working life, i.e. the sequence of stages is disrupted. In conditions of increasing unemployment, a person is forced to repeat certain stages due to newly emerging problems of professional self-determination, professional retraining, adaptation to a new profession and a new professional community.

In this regard, there is a need to create new technologies for professional development and personality development oriented towards the constantly changing labor market, developing professional mobility and increasing the competitiveness of specialists.

On the interaction of individual, personal and professional development of a person

The characteristics of a person as an individual are determined by his biological characteristics: heredity, characteristics of the body, state of health, physical and mental energy. Individual characteristics influence the pace and level of human development both as an individual and as a professional. The leading personal characteristics of a person include his relationships, motives, intelligence, and emotional-volitional sphere. They indirectly, indirectly influence individual development and mainly determine professional development. The level of a person’s professional achievements is determined by both individual characteristics and personal characteristics.

Real scenarios of human life are very diverse. Depending on the relationship between the rates of different types of development, A. A. Bodalev identifies the following scenarios for the development of an adult:

Individual development is significantly ahead of personal and professional development. This ratio characterizes the weak development of a person as an individual and as a worker. There are no interests, inclinations or abilities for any activity, professional preparedness is not expressed, low level of ability to work.

A person’s personal development is more intensive than individual and professional. This is manifested in caring for the environment, people, objects of material and spiritual culture, attachment to family, etc. Physical health and professional achievements are in the background.

Professional development dominates over the other two “hypostases” of a person. The priority of professional values, total absorption in work are the characteristics of the so-called workaholics.

Relative correspondence of the pace of individual, personal and professional development. This is the optimal ratio that determines the realization, the “fulfillment” of a person’s self.

Biological factors have a decisive influence on individual development, mental characteristics and leading activities on personal development, and socio-economic factors and leading (professional) activities on professional development. All three types of development are interconnected, and if we take into account that development is uneven, then each person has his own unique development trajectory. The content of professional activity has a great influence on individual scenarios of professional development. Professional achievements, satisfying the needs for self-affirmation, lead to a restructuring of professional self-awareness, influence the system of motives, relationships and value orientations, and ultimately initiate a restructuring of the entire personality structure. In some cases, good physical development becomes a condition and motivator for high professional activity and the basis for successful personal growth.

Summarizing the above considerations, we can state that the individual, personal and professional development of a person in individual life interact and give rise to a wide range of scenarios of professional life. The peak achievements of a person are located at different stages of professional development of the individual.

First stage - finding your place in life: professional self-determination and education; career appears as an emotionally rich, but poorly structured image (often concretized in a significant person).

1. Optant phase – a person is forced to make a professional choice.

2. Adept phase – the choice is made, professional activity is mastered (professional knowledge is mastered).

Second phase - entry into position and professional adaptation; characterized by the formation of a person’s real attitude to his chosen activity.

3. Adaptation phase – (2-3 g) adaptation to the profession, professional activity (mastering professional skills).

Third stage – becoming a position; characterized by the formation of skills, the acquisition of forecasting skills and the specification of social expectations associated with a given professional activity; experience is accumulated, qualifications are improved, new algorithms for solving professional problems are mastered, and readiness to act in non-standard situations increases.

4. Internal phase – an experienced worker, independent, entered the profession.

Fourth stage – a person evaluates his professional career as a personally significant fact and is satisfied with the results of his own activity.

5. Mastery phase – is able to solve the most complex professional problems, has his own individual style of activity; has formal qualification indicators.

7. Mentoring phase – transfer of experience to young people.

Professional adaptation of a young specialist

A young specialist (manager) coming to work is faced, first of all, with the problem of professional adaptation

Under professional adaptation understand the mutual adaptation of the specialist and the team of the enterprise, as a result of which the employee gets accustomed to the enterprise, namely:

Learns to live in socio-professional and organizational-economic conditions that are relatively new to him;

Finds his place in the structure of the enterprise as a specialist capable of solving problems of a certain class;

Masters professional culture;

Included in the system of interpersonal connections and relationships that had developed before his arrival.

Adaptation is a multifaceted process, therefore there are its main types: psychophysiological, socio-psychological and professional adaptation. Each of the listed types can cause its own difficulties, difficulties, and problems for a specialist who has just come to the organization.

The reasons for the difficulties as a rule, they are:

Lack or untimeliness of obtaining the necessary information that allows you to navigate a new situation and find the right solution;

Lack of necessary professional experience and qualifications;

The need to solve several very important tasks at the same time: study the situation, make decisions, fulfill your new responsibilities, establish useful contacts, master new elements of activity, and especially carefully structure your behavior;

Insufficient understanding of the norms of professional behavior and inability to present oneself as a specialist;

The need to form a certain positive opinion of others about oneself, constant stay in the evaluation zone, sometimes the need to change the unfavorable opinion of others about oneself.

Psychophysiological adaptation- this is getting used to new physical and psychophysiological stress for the body, the regime, pace and rhythm of work, sanitary and hygienic factors of the working environment, and the peculiarities of organizing nutrition and rest. Adaptive reactions to unfavorable psychophysiological states of an employee cause mental tension, which takes on the character of stress.

Psychological support at this stage of professional development consists in diagnosing professionally significant psychophysiological properties, since this type of adaptation syndrome is often determined by hidden professional unsuitability. To relieve anxiety and mobilize a specialist’s professional activity, it is advisable to use psychological counseling and training in self-regulation of emotional states. Psychological support and assistance consist of relieving anxiety, developing a positive attitude towards overcoming difficulties, developing a sense of relevance and social security, and updating a specialist’s reserve capabilities. The criteria for successfully overcoming the psychophysiological adaptation syndrome are a comfortable emotional state of the specialist, getting used to the working rhythm and work schedule, and establishing optimal performance.

Socio-psychological adaptation- adaptation to a new social environment, inclusion in the system of professional interpersonal connections and relationships, mastering new social roles, norms of behavior, group norms and values, identifying oneself with a professional group.

The greatest difficulty for new specialists is the assimilation of group norms and inclusion in an already established system of interpersonal connections. Group norms, even in strictly regulated business relations, act as their basis, performing regulatory, evaluative, sanctioning and stabilizing functions. The most important thing for a new employee is information regarding group norms, compliance with which is mandatory, and violation is completely unacceptable.

is that the new employee is helped to master the norms of professional behavior, warning about the possible consequences of violating them. In some cases, conflict situations may arise due to non-compliance with group norms of behavior. Then prompt assistance from a psychologist is needed in resolving the conflict.

Professional adaptation- this is the adaptation of existing professional experience and style of professional activity to the requirements of a new workplace, the employee’s mastery of new professional functions and responsibilities, the refinement of the required skills and abilities, inclusion in professional cooperation and partnership, the gradual development of competitiveness. This is less typical for a young specialist, but is relevant for a young manager.

The main thing is to master a new professional activity. The criterion for success in this type of adaptation is compliance with real and required competence. The predominance of real competence over the required one leads to a decrease in motivation and disappointment, since it is important for a specialist that all his professional experience is in demand. Successful professional adaptation makes work attractive, increases the chance of higher pay and professional growth, and creates the prerequisites for a specialist’s self-actualization. In some cases, the question of personnel transfer to another job may be raised. This kind of situation causes a painful emotional state in a specialist - frustration. The support consists mainly in the development by a specialist, together with a psychologist, of new goals for professional life.

Psychological support comes down to assessing the real competence of a specialist, providing assistance in improving qualifications, overcoming the emerging feeling of professional inferiority, and forming adequate professional self-esteem. Psychological support involves correction of self-esteem: learning the ability to compare oneself only with oneself, assistance in developing reliable criteria for self-esteem, joint analysis of the content and tasks of the activity and comparison of its requirements with the capabilities of a specialist.

Thus, psychological support at the adaptation stage helps the successful advancement of a specialist in the field of profession, as well as in an enterprise, institution, or organization in the direction of professional self-improvement.

At the stage of professionalization the manager needs further professional growth", advanced training and career development, support when experiencing difficulties, dissatisfaction with work, in conflict situations, upon dismissal, as well as upon hiring. In modern enterprises and organizations, such support is provided by personnel development services and is considered as a form of personnel policy. Psychological support allows you to manage the professional growth and career of employees, plan the improvement of their qualifications, create a reserve for promotion. All this increases the competitiveness of employees in the labor market. The main goal of psychological escort at the stage of professionalization - ensuring mutual consistency and interaction between the employee and the enterprise (organization) in professional development. This goal is achieved by solving the following tasks:

Coordination of the development goals of the organization and the employee;

Preventing and eliminating “career dead ends”, in which there are practically no opportunities for employee development;

Formation and clarification of criteria for professional growth, advanced training related to career;

Studying and assessing the professional potential of the employee;

Effective use of professional growth paths;

Systematic familiarization of the employee with prospects for the short and long term;

Establishing the required level of professional competence for promotion.

The planned psychological support is carried out in the following professionally significant situations related to the manager’s professionalism:

When hiring;

When conducting certification and personnel movements;

Before being sent to advanced training courses;

When promoted to the personnel reserve.

When applying for employment, it is important that the candidate for the position understands that the selection is carried out in his own interests, as it will ensure trouble-free work in the future, avoid injuries, increase job satisfaction, and increase the efficiency of professional activity.

After applying for a job, together with the employee, they determine the prospects for professional growth and career. Professional advancement involves achieving a recognized high professional status, professionalization, and growth of professional competence; achieving a certain social status in professional activity, accompanied by the occupation of certain positions in accordance with socially recognized standards in a given field.

Occupational movement (vertical, horizontal or centripetal) is also discussed. Vertical movement is focused on moving to a higher level of the structural hierarchy. Horizontal – moving to another functional area of ​​activity, or performing a certain official role at a level that does not have a strict formal fixation in the organizational structure (for example, project manager), expanding or complicating tasks within the occupied level (usually with an adequate change in remuneration). Centripetal movement represents movement towards the core, the leadership of the organization.

Of course, such components as professionally important qualities and the level of professional training are formed in a person gradually in the process of professional training and professional activities. The formation and development of a professional is subject to a general pattern and is called “professional development of the individual.”

- How did your development as a specialist begin?

- Did you have any doubts about your choice of professional activity and what were they associated with?

- What was your development as a professional?

- How was your adaptation to entering the profession?

- Have there been any difficulties in the process of professional development?

The path to becoming a professional that every specialist goes through is a dynamic and multi-level process that consists of four main stages.

The first stage can be rightfully designated as stage of formation of professional intentions. Development during the period of “choosing a profession”, designing a professional “start” and life path are defined as conscious preparation for “life”, for work, the stage of planning, designing a professional life path.

This stage ends with the formation of an idea of ​​a certain professional community into which the future specialist would like to be included and to which he will focus in his development. Thus, the image of a “professional” is formed, and appropriate conscious, independent, specific and fairly firm decisions are made that determine the transition to the next stage of vocational training.

A young person does not always make a choice on his own: often the decision is made by parents, or is determined by random factors (it is more convenient to get there by transport, friends study there, etc.). This means that the future specialist himself will have to make an informed choice later, when significant resources (temporary, emotional, material) have already been spent. Of course, the most favorable option is the conscious choice of a profession by the youngest person, when targeted pre-professional training was carried out in high school.

The stage of vocational training in different cases falls on different age periods. As a rule, this is the age of 17–24 years, when basic vocational training is carried out in an educational institution. At the same time, in the modern world, technologies are rapidly developing, and the requirements for specialist qualifications are changing. Therefore, vocational training does not end at the stage of initial mastery of the profession.

During the stage of vocational training, very significant changes occur in self-awareness, personality orientation, awareness, skill and other aspects of individuality; there are specific “developmental crises” and the need for psychological support in becoming a professional.

In general, during the period of vocational training, the system of basic value concepts that characterize a given professional community and cultivated in it is mastered, and the special knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for a successful professional start are acquired, both for future professional activities and in everyday life. Professionally important qualities are developed, and systems of these qualities are structured. Professional suitability is formed, expressed in a combination of success in educational, professional and work activities with satisfaction in the chosen path. The end of the vocational training stage ends with the transition to the next stage - the stage professional adaptation.

This stage is characterized by two stages:

The stage of adaptation of a young specialist to a professional environment, “getting used to” of a young specialist to work. A professional is directly faced with the need to enter into many of the subtleties of professional activity, which a young specialist may have known about only from the words of his teachers. More than one generation of young specialists has heard from experienced colleagues: “Forget everything you were taught at the institute.” At this stage, coping strategies are formed that allow the professional to cope with the inevitable difficulties and traumatic circumstances of professional activity. As a rule, the adaptation stage lasts from one to three years. The stage of entering the profession is extremely dangerous for a professional from the point of view of the formation of occupational health disorders.

At this stage, it is important for a young specialist to have a mentor. This could be a manager or an experienced colleague in the team. It is the mentor who helps the young specialist self-determinate in the profession, find a specific feeling of readiness for work and successfully completed work, and avoid the formation of destructive attitudes in work. Probably every mature specialist remembers the first positive assessment from a mentor. For many, this moment is key in the formation of professional self-awareness, when a young specialist begins to perceive himself as a professional.

The stage of “entering the profession.” At this stage, the professional has already become a very experienced specialist who is confident in the correctness of his chosen professional path and loves his work. He has sufficient experience to independently and with sufficient efficiency solve basic professional tasks. The specialist’s colleagues evaluate him as a professional who has his own achievements and has found his place in the profession. At first glance, it may seem that professional development is complete and there is no need and nowhere to strive further. However, practice shows that stopping professional development at this stage results in either disappointment in the profession, or “ossification,” stereotyping, and, consequently, over time, a decrease in reliability in professional activity. A professional stops at the “artisan” stage; over time, destructive attitudes are formed that make it possible to justify this position. For example, a teacher, three years after starting work at a school, loses all interest in further development, justifying this by the fact that: “The students don’t need it, they are not worth improving for their sake.” Such a teacher uses rigid, stereotypical and monotonous teaching methods, experiencing boredom and indifference to the subject and students. Naturally, the work of such a teacher cannot be considered effective.

Further professional development moves to the stage partial or complete realization of personality in professional work and is represented by the following stages:

- master stage, which will continue further, and the characteristics of the remaining stages are, as it were, summed up with its characteristics. A professional at this stage can already solve any professional problems. He has acquired his own specific, individual, unique style of professional activity, and his results are stable. He already has experience in unique solutions to a number of problems. At that stage, a professional, as a rule, has formal indicators of high qualifications and significant authority among colleagues.

Reaching the mastery stage characterizes the period of flourishing. The heyday is distinguished by physical fitness and professional peak. Different professions are characterized by different age periods corresponding to the period of professional flourishing and different durations of this period. Thus, ballet dancers reach their peak at about 25 years of age. In scientific activity, the heyday can be reached in about 40 years. Rescuers receive international qualifications at approximately 35–40 years of age, with work experience of 10 years or more.

So, at this stage the specialist was able to achieve professional mastery in its highest manifestations. Practice shows that the heights of professionalism can be achieved by possessing different, sometimes opposing, personal qualities. High professionalism can be achieved by compensating for underdeveloped personality traits with more developed ones. Often, the optimal level of development of personal qualities and motivational characteristics compensate for insufficiently developed psychomotor qualities and deficiencies in professional knowledge. Thus, a sociable, charming person who knows how to establish effective contacts in a team can achieve more than a single generalist. However, experts themselves often overestimate psychomotor qualities and underestimate personal and motivational characteristics.

It should be noted that achieving prosperity is characterized not only by high professional skill, but also by personal maturity. The characteristics of a personality who has reached its peak, given by a number of foreign authors, show us a kind of “normal”, healthy personality. Within the framework of the Russian mentality, the concept of “flourishing” takes on slightly different features. A person who has reached his peak is characterized by firmly and organically assimilated universal human values. Such a person is distinguished by self-control, a strategy for building a life that involves constant movement towards the implementation of ever new, more difficult than before, plans, the results of which are needed not only by the person himself, but by all people. Such a person actively influences the environment of his development; the events of his life are under his control. A person is distinguished by extreme dedication, the ability to mobilize himself to overcome difficulties, predicting the consequences of his actions, the desire for objectivity and the ability to make decisions, well calculated or intuitive, regardless of the opinions of others.

- Can problems (experiences) arise for a specialist at the stages of master, authority, mentor?

- Do you think that a specialist who has reached the stage of mastery has the opportunity, as well as the need, to develop further professionally?

- What, in your opinion, might be his future prospects for professional development?

Many specialists at the mastery stage cease to see further prospects for professional development; you can often hear the phrase: “Nothing good will happen next.” Are they right, does professional development stop at this stage? This is a destructive attitude that can lead to cessation and other disruptions in professional development. In the future, professional development continues at the stage authority, which, like the mastery stage, is summed up with the next one.

A professional at this stage can safely be called a master of his craft. This is a well-known specialist in the professional circle; perhaps his fame goes beyond the scope of his professional activities. He has high formal indicators, perhaps he is a leader, has awards, distinctions, there is a circle of colleagues who turn to him for advice, support or advice. As a rule, this stage occurs at an age when a decrease in performance associated with age-related changes and various somatic diseases is already evident; however, professional experience, developed effective strategies for solving professional problems, and the presence of assistants make it possible to successfully compensate for these unfavorable changes.

It should be noted that at this stage a period of prosperity may begin. But at this stage, this is not the flowering period of the performer, as was the case at the previous stage, but the flowering of the organizer, manager, and leader. And at the next stage it is also possible to achieve prosperity, but as a teacher.

- WITH tadia mentor, mentoring in a broad sense occurs when a circle of like-minded people gathers around an authoritative master, who consciously share the master’s approach to solving professional problems, perhaps these are specialists of other specializations, representing other departments, or other related specialties. People begin to imitate an authoritative master, sometimes unconsciously, and “legends” and anecdotes about the master arise, indicating that this professional in the minds of most colleagues is inseparable from ideas about the professional community, and sometimes determines these ideas. Colleagues are eager to get acquainted with the master’s experience and adopt this experience; he has students. Maybe the master heads a scientific direction and organization. Training of young specialists and mentoring in the broad sense of the word help compensate for the increasing unfavorable changes associated with age. This is what allows a professional, despite approaching or approaching retirement age, to feel the fullness of professional life and build its time perspective. This is the period when a professional, going beyond the boundaries of his profession, comes to philosophical generalizations, which allows him to expand the context of professional activity and find innovative solutions to the most difficult professional problems.

At this stage, the phenomenon of professional intuition is most clearly manifested. When a specialist, based on one characteristic or “special feeling” known to him, determines the qualitative characteristics of a work situation and instantly makes the only correct decision. This also applies to the sense of danger among divers working in minimal visibility, and to the legendary folk character Petrovich, who determines problems in the car by the sound of the engine.

At all stages and stages of professional development, we can identify through lines along which the formation of a specialist occurs. First of all, this is the line of mastering technology, or the operational basis of professional activity. This line of development is traditionally paid much attention by both professionals themselves and teachers. This is important and necessary, thanks to this the specialist maintains his status with the development of technology. However, even an excellent technically trained professional without formed motives for professional activity will not be able to be professionally reliable and effective. Therefore, one of the most important lines of professional development is directly related to the answer to the question: “Why, for whom do I work?” At different stages of professional development, a specialist’s answer to this question will be different. We can say that successfully surviving a professional crisis is marked by finding a new meaning in activity, a new, more mature answer to this question.

Thus, young rescuers are characterized by the desire for high professional results, the desire to take a worthy place in the professional community. For more experienced rescuers, the emphasis shifts towards a “saving” attitude towards colleagues, victims, and oneself.

Professional Development– this is not only improvement, but also destruction, destruction, deformation. This means that professional development has both gains and losses. The development of a specialist goes through a series of development crises that arise during the transition from one stage to another. Successful resolution of crises is accompanied by finding new meanings of professional activity. Even with the awareness of the need for crises in development, such periods are accompanied by the experience of tension, anxiety, dissatisfaction and other negative states. Of course, these periods are described by professionals as difficult, difficult; the effectiveness of professional activities may decrease and conflict may increase.

For example, during a crisis of transition to mastery, a specialist begins to notice inaccuracies in the work of older colleagues who previously seemed like impeccable professionals, their funny or unpleasant traits that cause irritation. Irritation and dissatisfaction with the situation gradually increases, conflicts arise, and the specialist has doubts about the correctness of his chosen path. Nervousness affects both work and family, dissatisfaction with oneself, profession, and quality of life appears. The subjective difficulty of the situation increases, which sometimes may seem hopeless.

As the subjective difficulty of the situation increases, the effectiveness of professional activity depends to a greater extent on psychological stability rather than on professional skill. Thus, such a personality characteristic as psychological stability, along with professional skill, determines the effectiveness of a specialist in difficult situations.

Psychological stability– this is a personality characteristic consisting in maintaining optimal mental functioning. It is not an innate property of a personality, but is formed simultaneously with its development and depends on many factors, primarily such as: the type of nervous activity, the experience of a specialist, the level of professional training, the level of development of the basic cognitive structures of the personality. Among the components of psychological stability, the following are distinguished: emotional, volitional, cognitive (intellectual), motivational and psychomotor components. Psychological stability is not just a sum of components, but an integral education. It must be emphasized that the indicator of sustainability is not stability (it is impossible to be resistant to everything), but variability. Variability is considered as flexibility, speed of adaptability to constantly changing living conditions, high mental mobility when moving from task to task.

Experts do not have a consensus on the leading component of psychological stability. Some researchers consider the cognitive component to be the leading one, others present the emotional and volitional components as the leading ones as emotional-volitional stability. In some studies, the leading component is considered to be motivational. It seems that in relation to crises of professional development, it is right to consider the leading component of psychological stability to be motivational. After all, the main question that a specialist asks during a crisis is: “Why am I working? What is the meaning of my work? What does my work give to people, what changes in the world around us?” Without finding an answer to these questions, the specialist either follows a path in which violations of professional and then mental health are inevitable, or leaves the profession.

The conditions of professional activity of rescuers and firefighters place increased demands on the emotional sphere and personal characteristics of specialists. In the works of domestic psychologists, psychophysiological and characterological characteristics of the individual were identified, the combination and severity of which form the so-called “professional character”, which contributes to the effectiveness of a professional in extreme conditions. It is the presence of certain professionally important qualities that determines the reliability and effectiveness of a professional’s professional activities in non-standard situations.

- In your opinion, should an extreme specialist have certain professionally important qualities?

- If “yes”, then which ones?

Successful resolution of professional difficulties leads to further improvement of activities and professional development of the individual.

The unfavorable course of professional development manifests itself externally in a decrease in the effectiveness and reliability of professional activity, in negative changes in a person’s personal qualities, and in the loss of the meaning of professional activity. Violations can affect not only the sphere of professional activity - the personality of a professional, professional communication, but also invade the sphere of personal life and health. With the unfavorable development of professional destruction, a specialist may leave the profession, ceasing to see the meaning in professional activity, or due to diseases that make further professional activity impossible.

Professional suitability of a person is a necessary condition for normal professional development.

This is a set of psychological and psychophysiological characteristics of a person necessary to achieve, with special knowledge, skills and abilities, socially acceptable labor efficiency.

In the process of learning and mastering a profession, professionally important qualities and systems of professionally important qualities are formed.

Professional destruction in the most general case, this is a violation of already acquired methods of activity, the destruction of formed professional qualities, the emergence of stereotypes of professional behavior and psychological barriers when mastering new professional technologies, a new profession or specialty. Professional destruction negatively affects labor productivity and interaction with other participants in this process.

Professional destruction also occurs with age-related changes, physical and nervous exhaustion, and illness. The experience of professional destruction is accompanied by mental tension, psychological discomfort, and in some cases, conflicts and crisis phenomena.

It is noted that professional destruction develops to the greatest extent among representatives of professions in which a number of specific features of professional activity are irremovable. Such features characteristic of the professions of a rescuer or firefighter include the following:

A constant feeling of novelty and uniqueness of the situation when carrying out professional activities;

The need for constant self-development, maintaining physical fitness, which on the one hand is a prerequisite for maintaining professionalism, on the other hand, in moments of fatigue and asthenia, causes feelings of violence against oneself, feelings of irritation and anger;

Interpersonal contacts are emotionally saturated due to the specifics of professional activity;

Constant inclusion of volitional processes in professional activities;

High responsibility for people's lives and health.

Professional destruction must be distinguished from professional deformations, which are a necessary condition for the professionalization of the individual. Strictly speaking, professional deformations arise already at the stage of vocational training, when professionally important qualities and systems of these qualities are purposefully formed, allowing one to become an effective professional in the future.

There are several levels of professional deformations. As an example of general professional deformations, one can cite specific personality traits and behavior of professional military personnel, which are easily recognizable in a group of people. The same thing happens with a professional group of teachers, doctors, and representatives of many other professions.

- Can you name a number of specific personality traits and behavior that clearly indicate such professional groups as: teachers, accountants, law enforcement officers?

- Are there, in your opinion, personality and behavior characteristics that may indicate such a professional group as extreme specialists? Which?

That is, these are personality and behavior characteristics that can be traced in most specialists with extensive work experience.

Special professional deformations arise in the process of specialization in a profession. Thus, it is not difficult for an experienced person to determine the branch of the military in which a military man serves or the specialization of a rescuer. That is, each specialty is distinguished by a specific composition of deformations.

It is impossible to unambiguously determine the sign of the influence of deformations on personality. On the one hand, personality deformations are a necessary condition for mastering the value system and mastering the operational and technical side of professional activity, entry and development into the profession. Professional deformations also include changes in personality structure during the transition from one stage of professional development to another. On the other hand, excessive, hypertrophied deformation can lead to impaired professional health. And in this case, we can talk about professional destruction that arises in the process of performing the same professional activity for many years. In this case, excessive, distorted professional development of certain professionally important qualities to the detriment of others gives rise to professionally undesirable qualities.

Thus, some older rescuers with extensive work experience sometimes show a decrease in self-criticism, self-demandingness, and a feeling of “legitimacy” of such relaxations in relation to service and discipline that are unacceptable for less experienced colleagues.

One of the most common forms of occupational health disorders is professional burnout– a protective mechanism developed by an individual in response to traumatic influences in the field of professional activity.

Initially, emotional burnout was considered a destruction characteristic of professions associated with intensive communication with people: doctors, teachers, social workers, etc. Research in recent years has led to the conclusion that the scope of burnout is significantly wider. Some foreign studies note the presence of burnout in the engineering professions, among teleservice workers and some others.

For example, the phenomenon of “fatigue” among pilots is defined as a pilot’s loss of focus on performing his professional activities. The pilot loses interest in his work, he develops a fear of flying, lacks confidence in his abilities, and loses responsibility for the outcome of the flight. Ultimately, pilots have a desire to change their profession and retire to non-flying work. Symptoms of burnout in this case are manifested in the pilot in decreased satisfaction from his professional activities, in decreased motivation in the professional sphere, in emotional, mental and physical exhaustion.

-What, in your opinion, are the symptoms of burnout?

-Is it possible for a specialist to identify the symptoms of burnout independently?

So, it is necessary to emphasize the obvious connection between emotional burnout and stress.

The first stage, the phase of tension, begins with the muting of emotions, smoothing out the severity of feelings and the freshness of experiences.

It seems that everything is fine so far, but... the colors of the world have become more muted, becoming more and more gray. Favorite food becomes tasteless and bland, there is no pleasure from favorite activities or books. A person notices that the simplest activities, which previously gave a charge of joy, are perceived as something burdensome. Then the person ceases to receive positive sensations from communicating with people, with animals, with nature.

The second stage of “burnout” is characterized by the emergence of misunderstandings with those for whom the professional works. At first they are hidden. A professional who has begun to “burn out” first begins to talk about some of his wards with disdain, or even mockingly. Subsequently, hostility towards the ward manifests itself in his presence. At first, this is a barely restrained antipathy, but there comes a moment when it is no longer possible to restrain yourself, and irritation spills out directly onto the “victim’s” head. Detachment appears in relationships with family members.

The third stage of “burnout” is considered the most serious, since in this case ideas about the values ​​of work and universal human values ​​are distorted. In relationships with colleagues and loved ones, one feels coldness and indifference. A person’s emotional attitude to the world becomes simpler, and he becomes dangerously indifferent to everything, even to his own life. Thus, working in tandem, a professional remains inattentive to his own safety and the safety of colleagues who need to be insured, which can lead to tragic consequences.

Every working person needs to ask himself from time to time: “What impact does my work have on me? Maybe I have costs associated with my professional activities?” It is very important to be attentive to the appearance of malaise or bad mood. After all, the first signs of negative professional changes appear unnoticed. Only a professional himself can promptly recognize the first signs of destruction and take the necessary measures.

Burnout syndrome develops under the influence of a number of factors of a subjective, socio-psychological and objective nature.

Objective risk factors for developing burnout include the following:

- working conditions for rescuers, which are characterized by specific features, such as: critical ambient temperatures, vibration, noise and light backgrounds, sudden light and sound signals, work in personal protective equipment, increased physical activity, adverse effects of work and rest regimes.

- responsibility for the life and health of people: moral and legal responsibility for the well-being of victims and colleagues. The responsibility for human health and life is especially high.

- emotionally rich interpersonal contacts that arise in the process of professional activity. Victims of emergencies, as a rule, are in a state characterized by a decrease in criticality of their behavior and changes in the environment, a decrease in the ability to perform purposeful activities, and a decrease in the ability to come into contact with others. Often rescuers and firefighters are the specialists who are the first to come to the aid of the victim and take on the brunt of communicating with him;

- chronic intense psycho-emotional activity, associated with the need to maintain a state of readiness during duty, and with the emotional intensity of experiences associated with contacts with the bodies of the dead, and with information uncertainty, as well as with a lack of time to analyze the situation and make a decision.

The socio-psychological risk factors for burnout include the following:

- socio-economic situation in the region: the opportunity to provide for a family, decent material remuneration for work, secured social guarantees - all this allows a professional to feel confident and restore resources. A situation where a specialist uses rest time to earn extra money deprives him of the opportunity to fully recuperate and increases the risk of developing burnout.

- image of the profession and social significance of the profession, which are determined, among other things, by the attitude of the leadership of the city, region, country towards the professional group, and the image of a typical representative of this profession among the population. A positive image of a professional inspires confidence among the population, which in many situations makes it easier to conduct emergency work. Adequate understanding by representatives of the administration at any level of the goals, objectives and capabilities of the professional group allows them to maintain constructive relationships that contribute to the most effective solution of the assigned tasks. When forming the image of a profession, the role of each individual specialist is high: people form ideas based on their own experience. Therefore, the unsightly act of one professional casts a shadow on all representatives of this profession. The role of the media in shaping the image of the profession is also important. It is not difficult to imagine the state of professionals who have done everything possible and impossible to save people who read an article in a newspaper questioning their professionalism.

- destabilizing organization of activities . Its main features are well known: unclear organization and planning of labor, lack of equipment. Poorly structured, vague and contradictory information in everyday activities, the presence of “bureaucratic noise” in it is also an organizational factor that destabilizes activities.

- unfavorable psychological atmosphere of professional activity.

This is determined by two main circumstances: conflict vertically, in the “manager-subordinate” system, and horizontally, in the “colleague-colleague” system.

Among the factors in the work environment, the most important are the degree of autonomy and independence of the employee in performing his work, the presence of social support from colleagues and management, as well as the opportunity to participate in decision-making that is important for the organization.

Of course, in addition to external factors that contribute to the development of burnout syndrome, there are also internal ones. It is this group of factors that helps to understand why in one organization one specialist successfully develops in the profession, while another cannot stand it, and over time he develops professional burnout.

The subjective factors that cause emotional burnout include the following:

- tendency towards emotional restraint.

Naturally, emotional burnout as a means of psychological defense occurs faster in those who are more emotionally restrained. In such a person, emotional stress gradually accumulates without finding a way out. On the contrary, the formation of burnout symptoms will occur more slowly in people who know how to react to emotions in a safe way.

- intense perception and experience of the circumstances of professional activity.

This psychological phenomenon occurs in people with increased responsibility for the assigned task or the role they perform. This factor seems especially dangerous at the stage of entering the profession, at the stage of adaptation. Quite often there are cases when, due to youth, inexperience and, perhaps, naivety, a specialist working with people perceives everything too emotionally and devotes himself to the task without reserve. Reflecting on the cases encountered and clarifying the necessary information can take up all the specialist’s free time. At the same time, important personal matters are left “for later,” relatives and friends become distant, and hobbies are forgotten. Each stressful case from practice leaves a deep mark on the soul. The fate, health, and well-being of the victim causes intense complicity and empathy, painful thoughts and insomnia. Gradually, emotional resources are depleted, and there is a need to restore them or preserve them, resorting to one or another method of psychological defense. Thus, some specialists change their work profile and even profession after some time.

Or there is identification of oneself with professional activities. Such rescuers feel like rescuers everywhere and always: not only at work, but also in communication with family and friends, choosing as a hobby activities that are closely related to helping.

- To what extent, in your opinion, is this attitude correct in relation to oneself?

- What can such identification of oneself with professional activity lead to in the future?

- irrational beliefs. For example, the conviction that everyone around them should value and respect the work of a rescuer and firefighter. Or, that the main task of civil servants is to deal with the work and everyday problems of extreme specialists.

- weak motivation for emotional return in professional activities.

Often a specialist believes that showing complicity and empathy for colleagues and victims is not necessary. And then the professional does not feel the difference between saving a person and saving property.

- Do you, as a specialist, share this attitude?

- What, in your opinion, can such an installation lead a specialist to?

In the end, such an attitude leads not only to the development of burnout syndrome, but also to personal changes: a person becomes indifferent, callous, and sometimes ruthless.

Sometimes, considering it necessary to respond emotionally and empathize, a specialist does not know how to receive a “reward”, reward himself for his sensitivity, and does not know how to receive satisfaction from this part of his work. He supports the self-assessment system by other means - material or formal indicators of achievement. And over time, emotional return ceases to seem necessary in professional activities.

- moral defects and personality disorientation.

Moral defects are caused by the inability to include in interactions with colleagues and victims such moral categories as: conscience, virtue, decency, honesty, respect for the rights and dignity of another person.

Moral disorientation is caused by the inability to distinguish good from evil, benefit from harm caused to the individual.

- workaholism.

One of the risk factors for developing burnout syndrome is workaholism. However, the reasons that give rise to this phenomenon may be different.

Workaholics who are process-oriented rather than result-oriented and obsessed with work are at risk of developing burnout. Such workaholics do not know how to reward themselves for successfully completing professional tasks. They have a low quality of life and are more likely to have work-related illnesses and disorders. Often workaholism is a form of protection from troubles in another area of ​​life, for example, in family life.

- the number of changes in life over the current period.

Many changes in life, even positive ones, occurring simultaneously, narrow the “zone of stability.” For example, having a child, getting a new apartment, or being promoted in a short period of time significantly increases the risk of developing burnout syndrome.

The burnout syndrome is described in detail in the concept of emotional burnout by V.V. Boyko. From the author’s point of view, emotional burnout is a dynamic process that occurs in stages, in full accordance with the mechanism of stress development and consisting of three phases: the phase of tension, resistance and exhaustion. Each phase corresponds to individual signs or symptoms of developing burnout syndrome.

Nervous tension serves as a precursor and triggering mechanism in the development of emotional burnout syndrome. The increase in tension is caused by a subjective feeling of increased traumatic factors and their insurmountability. The tension phase includes the following symptoms:

1. Symptom of “experiencing traumatic circumstances.”

It is manifested by an increasing awareness of psycho-traumatic factors of professional activity, which are difficult or completely impossible to eliminate. If a person actively reacts to the circumstances of professional activity, then irritation with them gradually grows, despair and indignation accumulate. The intractability of the situation leads to the development of other phenomena of “burnout”.

It is important to emphasize that all professionals face similar traumatic circumstances. However, some specialists know how to process the situation, find the positive that is contained in these circumstances, and identify the opportunities that are contained in them. In this case, the specialist finds a resource that gives strength to develop further in the profession. It should be noted that a resource that is suitable for one person may not be a resource for another. Therefore, the work of finding a resource is internal, individual work. One of the techniques for finding a resource is to expand the context of the situation.

Often young people, school graduates, have the opinion that joining a profession is just a “transfer-reception” of professional knowledge, skills and abilities. However, in reality the situation is far from being so simple. Professional development is a rather complex, lengthy, very dynamic, multifaceted and sometimes contradictory process, in which four stages are clearly distinguished. (according to T.V. Kudryavtsev.).

3.1. Stages of professional development:

First stage professional development of the individual is associated with the origin and formation of professional intentions under the influence of the general development of the individual and initial orientation in various areas of work, in the world of work and the world of professions.

Psychological criterion The success of passing this stage is the choice of profession or specialty that corresponds to social needs (as we would now say - the requirements of the labor market) and the needs of the individual himself.

Second stage- this is a period of professional training and education, that is, targeted training in a chosen professional activity and mastery of all the intricacies of professional skill.

Psychological criterion successful completion of this stage is the professional self-determination of the individual, that is, the formation of an attitude towards oneself as a subject of one’s chosen activity and professional orientation, which quite clearly reflects the orientation towards the development of professionally significant qualities (sometimes they are called professionally important qualities - PIC). -

Third stage- active entry into the professional environment, reflecting the student’s transition to a new type of activity - to professional work in its various forms in real production conditions, performing official duties, etc.

Psychological criterion successful completion of this stage is the active mastery of the profession in the conditions of the real labor process and production relations, finding oneself in the system of work collectives.

Fourth stage involves the full or partial realization of professional aspirations and capabilities of the individual in independent work.

Psychological criterion successful completion of this stage - the degree of mastery of the operational side of professional activity, the level of formation of professionally significant personality qualities, attitude to work, a measure of skill and creativity.

3.2. Crises of professional development

At the same time, it turned out that throughout almost the entire process of professional formation and development, the transition from one stage to another can often be accompanied by the emergence of certain difficulties and contradictions in a person, and often crisis situations. It is significant that the replacement of one stage of the process of professional development by another is not always strictly tied to a certain age stage or biographical period. It reflects the psychological age of professional and personal formation, development and maturity of a person. For example, one student, being, say, only in the fifth or seventh grade, may, under the influence of his parents or as a result of interaction with representatives of the profession that interests him, reading specialized literature, self-study or self-development, find himself at the second stage of the process of professional development. Another, even after graduating from a vocational educational institution, may not satisfy the psychological criteria of the first stage.

Similar problems and crises can, as it turns out, arise and often actually arise not only during the transition from one stage of the process of professional development to another, but also within individual stages of this process. As observations and analysis of the experience of organizing professional training show, in the practice of educational work of vocational educational institutions of various types, there are often cases when by the end of the first, and especially often in the second or third (depending on the type of educational institution) year of study, a student the attitude towards the process of mastering a profession may change. This is the so-called negative syndrome of the 2nd - 3rd year of professional training. They are disappointed in their professional choice, and sometimes even think about changing educational institutions and changing their specialty. It is significant that all this can take place with generally good indicators (academic grades) of successful training and completion of tasks during internship. This means that it is not a matter of ability. Psychologically, in such cases, a kind of paradoxical situation develops: the student, objectively being within the walls of a vocational educational institution, that is, at the second stage of the process of professional development, is subjectively, i.e. psychologically, he again finds himself on the threshold of only the first stage of this process, and maybe even only on the outskirts of it. In other words, in the process of professional development, a reverse, regressive movement is also possible. The possibility of the emergence of such situations of reverse movement in the process of professional formation and personal development requires especially close attention to them from teachers, school psychologists and students themselves. Knowledge of the individual dynamics and progress of the process of professional formation and development of each specific student, awareness of each of their own personal characteristics is an indispensable psychological condition for the timely provision of psychological assistance in overcoming the problems and difficulties that arise here.

3.3. Methods of work during critical periods of professional choice

It is absolutely clear that to provide such assistance it is not enough to limit ourselves only to the external observable side of these phenomena. Here it is important to know the deeper psychological causes, and not just their consequences, and to influence precisely these causes. What is the essence of these causes and means of accounting for and eliminating them.

When explaining these situations, they often appeal to the interests of students, to their role in the process of professional development. A change in attitude towards the process of professionalization in the chosen specialty, disappointment in it, the emergence of a feeling of dissatisfaction in these cases, they try to find a decrease or fading of interest in the process of vocational training, in the chosen profession, in the professional educational institution itself, the choice of which was initially made, it would seem, quite independently and consciously. The problem of interest, like the problem of abilities, is undoubtedly one of those psychological problems that are the most important for practical pedagogy and psychology.

The search for an answer to this question often leads to the conclusion that the change in the attitude of students to the process of mastering a profession, recorded by practical psychologists, turns out to be connected with the fact that either the profession being acquired, or the process of mastering it, or the real life itself in a vocational educational institution is revealed to students in some way. then new sides, which they were not ready to perceive and interact with. There are serious flaws and defects in their psychological and practical preparation for searching and choosing a professional career, mastering professional skills, and in their motivational sphere, on which the entire work and professional orientation of the individual is based. As a result, there is a change, a rethinking of those grounds, reasons, motives and goals for which, and for the sake of achieving and satisfying which, students chose a profession and entered a vocational educational institution. This kind of rethinking represents a transformation of the semantic supports and semantic relationships of students to the process of professionalization, which often actually lead to a restructuring of the entire semantic sphere of the individual, and dramatically manifest themselves in the collapse of the future professional “I”, in the loss of the meaning of being, in the feeling of losing oneself.