The term “human resources” is kinda unsettling to me, not because of the idea that someone might turn me into gruel but because it sounds so dehumanising. Wood, oil, and iron are resources, and there are mental resources that you can make use of, but metaphorically turning a human into a resource to be used like a tool in order to achieve something sounds wrong. It sounds as if individual humans were dispensable, but I guess many companies see humans just like that.
From a business perspective, we are resources. You can’t run a business if you treat everyone as indispensable individuals. They’re cogs in a machine that all serve a purpose.
That said, you should invest in your workers. You want them to be healthy and competent. You want to train them to be more effective. You want them to want to be at your company so that you don’t lose that investment.
Finding this balance is the healthiest form of employee-employer relationship. You should neither care so much about an individual employee that the company suffers rather than replace them, nor should you care so little that you throw them away at the first sign of inconvenience. It’s unfortunately a tough balance to get right.
The term “human resources” is kinda unsettling to me, not because of the idea that someone might turn me into gruel but because it sounds so dehumanising. Wood, oil, and iron are resources, and there are mental resources that you can make use of, but metaphorically turning a human into a resource to be used like a tool in order to achieve something sounds wrong. It sounds as if individual humans were dispensable, but I guess many companies see humans just like that.
They do.
“Human resources” sounds better than “Meat resources”, so I guess that’s why they go with it
From a business perspective, we are resources. You can’t run a business if you treat everyone as indispensable individuals. They’re cogs in a machine that all serve a purpose.
That said, you should invest in your workers. You want them to be healthy and competent. You want to train them to be more effective. You want them to want to be at your company so that you don’t lose that investment.
Finding this balance is the healthiest form of employee-employer relationship. You should neither care so much about an individual employee that the company suffers rather than replace them, nor should you care so little that you throw them away at the first sign of inconvenience. It’s unfortunately a tough balance to get right.