Alienation of the region's population in the sphere of labor

The relevance of the study is connected with the crisis phenomena in the Russian economy accompanied by the depreciation of labor, its transformation into a means of survival, as well as with the growing interest in the phenomenon of alienation. We have posed a research question,“How widespread are the processes of alienation in the labor sphere at the regional level?”. To answer the question, a theoretical-methodological and empirical study was conducted. The study subject were the situations in the labor sphere alienating in their nature, and the alienation of labor which is experienced by the modern employee. The analysis of K. Marx’s socio-economic alienation theory and R. Blouner’s sociological concept allowed to identify the main criteria of alienation of labor: the break of ties and the loss of subjectivity. The refinement of indicators was facilitated by the identification of categories that can be more or less opposed to the alienation of labor: participation, involvement and supra-role behavior. Negative emotions and feelings related to the work, decrease in the work value and satisfaction with it were considered as indicators of the rupture of relations “employee - work”. It is revealed that one of the alienation signs in the region is the depreciation of labor which is perceived as a means to meet other needs, just “having a job” is of value. The loss of subjectivity was viewed through the prism of influence resources. The obtained data showed that the resource of influence on work organization is associated with the respondents’ level of education and occupation. The conclusion about the connection of subjective assessment of labor productivity with alienating negative situations is made. The novelty of the work lies in the creation of tools for sociological research of labor alienation through a system of indicators: the lack of employees ‘ ability to control production processes and show individuality in work; loss of attitude to labor as a means of self-expression; decrease in the value of labor activity and the importance of “having a job”. Practical significance is associated with the disclosure of labor alienation manifestations which provides opportunities for further search for ways to overcome it.