Forget Human Resources, we need to become human radicals

>> Original article published in RCSA - The Brief 

I have a love-hate relationship with the term HR. I love the “human” side, where I’m in an industry that is focused on real, living people, but I hate the word “resource” which inadvertently defines those same humans as something to be used.

The term Human Resources was first coined in 1893 and became popular in the 1900s as HR departments were formed to “address the misunderstandings between the employee and employer”.
So much has changed in our workplaces since 1893 and while we have attempted to move away from the Human Resources term with phrases like “people and culture”, we are still stuck in an industry primarily defined as HR.

Looking ahead, our workforces are no longer just employees. The future of work means our workplaces will increasingly become a blend of employees, contingent labour, contractors, gig workers and even collectives of freelancers.

HR is no longer about employees alone, making it self-evident that the term Human Resources won’t be relevant for the future.

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