A photo of humans at work.
A photo of humans at work. Credit: Scott Graham / Unsplash Credit: Scott Graham / Unsplash

I believe it is a human right to be and feel human at work. I believe each of us has the right to show up as our whole-selves and do work that is fulfilling and impactful. I also believe it’s hard to be human at work because the concepts linked to human-related work, traditionally known as Human Resources, are jumbled up to the point where some of us are not sure what the problems are in our organizations, let alone knowing the paths and resources available to solve these problems. Is it low engagement? Is it low morale? Do we need better change management? How do we shift our culture? What is organizational development? What is the employee experience? In this article I’m going to provide my definitions of HR, how they are systems within systems, and what the ultimate goal should be for all organizations  – more humanity at work.

Way back when a new computer lab for school work was big news, that is in 1999, I received my degree in Human Resources (HR) Management from the University of British Columbia, it was called Industrial Relations Management. At that time the Commerce program had specialties that had to be picked. The ones related to math, like Finance and Accounting, I sucked at, and the others I just didn’t find interesting. I landed on the specialty of HR, at that time known as Industrial Relations Management (IRM). As I pursued the IRM  Industrial specialty the majority of the courses were focused on collective agreement negotiations, mediation, and HR analytics. The one course I loved was organizational development, and the content from that course influenced me to pursue IRM. I was dazed and confused. To be honest it wasn’t until after I graduated that I started to piece together all of the elements of human-related work – that is working with people, for people.

Here’s how I’ve made sense of it. There are three definitions of HR: the humans in the workforce, the folks (like me) that have specialized in an area of HR work, and the work itself. I see all three as complex systems, with the most complex being humans.

Being and feeling human at work is not an easy task. The elements that help to define the human component of HR include four things: needs, values, competencies and skills, and intersectionality.

Needs have been defined and redefined by many folks. Most of us are aware of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, often depicted in pyramid shape. Five need categories are provided by Maslow and since then there is an immense body of research on what the core human needs are. My take is that there are a variety of needs unique to each person.

Values are our non-negotiables. They guide our thoughts and behaviours.

Competencies are the observable behaviours such as emotional literacy, strategic thinking, and problem solving. Skills are things like computer programming, creating social media content, and delivering presentations.

Intersectionality is the main essence of being and feeling human at work. Intersectionality is a framework for comprehending the various aspects of a person’s identity and how these “intersect” to create empowerment and oppression. The term intersectionality was first coined by critical race theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw, in 1989. The framework was created to help us understand and work through the discriminatory and life threatening experiences some women face, especially those women that have interections in race, family status and socio-econmic status. In our workplaces, intersectionality must be applied to all humans in the workplace as we all have varying identities.

The second component of HR is the collective of folks that have specialized in an area that includes humans interacting and working with each other. I describe it in this broad manner because the collective consists of humans with various titles doing some sort of ‘human-related’ work. This collective includes folks like recruiters, coaches, organizational psychologists, change management practitioners, JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) consultants, managers and employees. The last two members of this collective, the managers and employees, I believe are the ones that have the most “skin in the game” when it comes to being and feeling human at work. And if I may be so bold to say, the employees are the most important – they are the backbone of an organization without them and without them feeling human at work, nothing else is possible.

The last component of HR is the various areas or disciplines themselves. I think part of the reason there have been so many spin-offs to describe HR areas or disciplines is because in some circles HR is about policy compliance and I’ve heard lots of clients say, “the human has been taken out of HR.” I think this feeling is indicative of how complex humans are and how the professionals and the disciplines are vast because of this complexity. To me, HR areas include all that is “human-related” with the specific focus on supporting and elevating humans so that they can feel and be human at work. Disciplines include recruitment, orientation, labour relations, talent development, leadership, organizational development, wellness, JEDI, organizational design, engagement, and my favorite, organizational behaviour.

These three individual components that define HR can be considered a system – a complex entity of interrelated and moving parts. We’ve got the humans, the humans doing the ‘human-related’ work and the work itself. Navigating these individual systems can be tricky but when done effectively and when these three systems are working together smoothly I believe humans feel and are able to be human at work.

Have a question or suggestion topic? Jodi would love to hear from you! Email her at [email protected].

Jodi Rai

Jodi is a People & Culture + HR Consultant, Coach, and Trainer on a mission to create a world where humanity is prioritized in workplaces and their communities. She has reimagined the traditionally...