The social policy of Belarus and the development of human potential: Problems and solutions

The article is devoted to the analysis of the directions and mechanisms of adapting the social policy of Belarus to the demographic, migration, communication and technological challenges of modern society. The purpose of the article is to search for social policy mechanisms aimed at developing human potential and stimulating the social activity of citizens. The author analyses the directions of the state’s social policy in the absence of the reproduction of labor resources, an increase in the demographic burden on the ablebodied population, an uneven distribution of labor resources, the emigration of skilled personnel, growth in automation and robotization of production, and a growing need to build effective communication between the government and the population. The article provides an extensive analysis of statistical information, sociological research data, the legislative framework, methods and social technologies of social policy. As a result of the study the author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to search for new mechanisms for implementing social policy in various fields. Therefore, in the field of demography, it is advisable to search for indirect measures to increase social guarantees for women in order to stimulate fertility, and transform the pension system in order to reduce the demographic burden on the working population. In the field of migration, it is advisable to take government action to prevent the outflow of highly qualified specialists abroad and to return of students who have received education abroad. In the field of social and labor relations existing personnel technologists should be improved and objective methods for evaluating the effectiveness of employees based on a competency-based approach should be introduced. In the field of communication between society and the state it is necessary to inform the public about the current state policy and to organize public discussions of the state initiatives before making them.