Human resources

This term implies that, just like ‘natural resources’, human beings are there to be exploited and used up by other human beings in superior positions within the business hierarchy. Like the Nazi term ‘human material’ (Menschenmaterial), it denies the individuality of any single person. Term first recorded in 1961; eventually replaced ‘manpower’.

Article arguing that successful industrialization in Africa will depend on ‘high quality human resources’

Data Visualizations
Related Terms
Related Episode

The Unspeak Dictionary exposes the meaning and historical context behind familiar Unspeak terms while crowdsourcing new terms into a collective database.

Select a term on the left to show its definition, reference links, and alternative definitions

Suggest a new Unspeak term, add an alternate definition or a new reference link

Vote on the best alternative definitions.

Discover related terms in the episode.

Explore various data visualizations that reflect the real-world usage of the selected term

Watch related episode