Something Personal

The re- branding of “personnel” to “human resources” three decades ago signaled that employees were now resources to be managed like any other capital, such as finances, office equipment and property. The Human Resources Manager sees its role as defining which employees are happy and productive. To do so, they try to influence the corporate culture by creating social engineering experiments in the office to identify employees that are engaged and those that are disillusioned. Seemingly innocent engagement activities like Potlucks, Hawaiian Shirt Wednesdays, Company sing-a-longs and Team-building exercises are not arranged for the enjoyment and benefit of the employees who participate in them, but for Human Resources to identify troubled employees.

A despondent worker, HR believes, is not a productive worker. But the problem with these activities and Human Resources’ monitoring of them is that introverts and those quietly dealing with health or personal issues might not feel up to such activities. Employees viewed as not participating in arranged workplace activities are identified as "troubled" to their managers and human resources personnel, which may precipitate their eventual departure.