This article presents a cognitive analysis of Russian proverbs and ‎sayings that conceptualize labor as a key cultural and mental ‎phenomenon. Proverbs are regarded as fragments of ethnic mentality, ‎reflecting the worldview, values, norms, and attitudes of the people. The ‎research is based on the principles of cognitive linguistics, which view ‎linguistic units as a product of mental activity that conveys collective ‎experience. The concept of labor is explored through binary oppositions, ‎symbolic imagery, and structural features such as productivity, ‎necessity, moral value, and cyclicity. The article demonstrates that labor ‎is understood not only as a survival tool, but also as a path to personal ‎development and spiritual harmony within the Russian linguistic ‎worldview.‎