The study of the functional behaviour of workers and employees in the industrial disaster prevention system is a relevant research topic. Situations related to the human factor require the development of psychodiagnostic techniques that are sensitive to the state of the body and ensure the safety of the production process. Our research results show that men aimed at solving production problems solve them faster, more efficiently than they solve women faster, and more efficiently than women do. Men focused on emotions, experience significantly more emotional burnout in professional activities. Most men and women working in the workplace have an average level of coping with stress. In male workers, in fulfilling professional tasks, stable adaptation arises. They often find themselves in various extreme conditions/situations than male employees and contributes to the resistance of workers to a complex of stress factors of various nature. © 2020 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.