Definition
Corporate dehumanization at its finest—a person reduced to a fungible unit of labor that can be allocated, reallocated, or eliminated as needed. The word used when 'employee' sounds too human.
Example Usage
We need to move three resources from Team A to Team B, as if people are interchangeable widgets.
Origin
Project management and human resources terminology from the mid-20th century
Fun Fact
Studies show that referring to employees as 'resources' correlates with lower job satisfaction and higher turnover rates—turns out people dislike being dehumanized.
Source: Human resources and project management terminology
Related Terms
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See “resource” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.
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