ecently, Elon Musk gave an ultimatum to Twitter employees: Stay and work “long hours at high intensity” or leave the company. And the response? An exodus of thousands of employees, those who didn’t want to work in this “hard-core” work environment. Now, Twitter is floundering and #RIPTwitter is trending.
While writing this piece, news notifications filled my phone’s lock screen, giving updates about this mass departure and the shaky fate of Twitter itself. The timing aligned perfectly with the writing of this book review of "Humanizing Human Capital," by Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor, which argues that the key to thriving in the present and future workplace hinges on the grasp of human capital strategies.
Unprecedented disruptions permeate the current state of work. These shockwaves come as the world itself faces vast challenges, but the resulting transitions can be made to benefit all of society. Work continues to transform with a major shift toward human-centric practices, not those that disregard the lives and wellbeing of workers such as Musk’s extreme request of Twitter employees.
Adopting human capital strategies will result in optimal business returns, according to the authors. In the face of mass disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of technology, they call upon business and organization leaders to “rise to the opportunity by reinventing HR.” Charas and Lupushor outline their argument by separating “Humanizing Human Capital” into three parts crucial to understand the changing workplace and how to humanize it for better enterprise performance.
Part one details disruptions impacting the workplace. The authors provide the four Ds of workplace disruptions: demographics, digitization, datafication, and disintermediation. From their research in demographics, the authors found that “the workforce is continuing to become older, more female, and more mobile.” Digitization of our lives transcends to work, furthering our hybrid future. Data analytics increasingly provides new tools to quantify the impact of human capital. Finally, the authors explain that intermediaries in the work process are being reimagined or replaced by automation.
Part two explains the humanizing of human capital at work, from brand discovery to the overall worker journey. Here, the authors outline the four W’s: work (what is being reimagined), worker (our digital identities), workplace (where human-centered design must be widespread), and worth (the value exchange between workers and the organization). The book emphasizes that investment in human capital is no longer regarded as a cost and should be framed as a return on investment (ROI.
Part three looks at engineering the future workplace by blending digital and physical work and how to redefine employment value in business cultures. The authors give multiple suggestions from their research, such as their 20 Principles, which any HR person should understand and follow.
The authors conclude the book by presenting the hopeful—that after all the cataclysmic events civilization currently faces, the world will emerge stronger and better. A new renaissance could be upon us—in work, in society, and in life. This theme of engineering a 21st century renaissance is followed by Diplomatic Courier’s sister organization, World in 2050, which looks at how these crises have acted as a catalyst for potentially long-lasting innovations. Charas and Lupushor provide insight into the rebirth of humanized work taking shape, its changing value and nature that will impact all of society.
“Humanizing Human Capital” is made for HR departments and leaders of any business or organization. As someone who doesn’t work in HR, in-depth analyses of situations felt less applicable to me than they would to someone who works in these roles. However, the insights look to the future of work, something that impacts everyone.
Human capital is the core of a company. When workers feel dissatisfied or leave, the organization is weakened, as seen with the ongoing Twitter exodus. Musk and an array of other business superiors seemingly fail to understand that humanized work is the next normal. “Humanizing Human Capital” is a book Musk and any work leader should read.
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The Book Elon Musk Should Read
Photo by Anthony Tyrrell via Unsplash.
November 24, 2022
Countless business leaders fail to see that humanized work is the next normal. Whitney DeVries reviews “Humanizing Human Capital” by Solange Charas & Stela Lupushor, which argues that the key to thriving in the present and future workplace hinges on the grasp of human capital strategies.
R
ecently, Elon Musk gave an ultimatum to Twitter employees: Stay and work “long hours at high intensity” or leave the company. And the response? An exodus of thousands of employees, those who didn’t want to work in this “hard-core” work environment. Now, Twitter is floundering and #RIPTwitter is trending.
While writing this piece, news notifications filled my phone’s lock screen, giving updates about this mass departure and the shaky fate of Twitter itself. The timing aligned perfectly with the writing of this book review of "Humanizing Human Capital," by Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor, which argues that the key to thriving in the present and future workplace hinges on the grasp of human capital strategies.
Unprecedented disruptions permeate the current state of work. These shockwaves come as the world itself faces vast challenges, but the resulting transitions can be made to benefit all of society. Work continues to transform with a major shift toward human-centric practices, not those that disregard the lives and wellbeing of workers such as Musk’s extreme request of Twitter employees.
Adopting human capital strategies will result in optimal business returns, according to the authors. In the face of mass disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the proliferation of technology, they call upon business and organization leaders to “rise to the opportunity by reinventing HR.” Charas and Lupushor outline their argument by separating “Humanizing Human Capital” into three parts crucial to understand the changing workplace and how to humanize it for better enterprise performance.
Part one details disruptions impacting the workplace. The authors provide the four Ds of workplace disruptions: demographics, digitization, datafication, and disintermediation. From their research in demographics, the authors found that “the workforce is continuing to become older, more female, and more mobile.” Digitization of our lives transcends to work, furthering our hybrid future. Data analytics increasingly provides new tools to quantify the impact of human capital. Finally, the authors explain that intermediaries in the work process are being reimagined or replaced by automation.
Part two explains the humanizing of human capital at work, from brand discovery to the overall worker journey. Here, the authors outline the four W’s: work (what is being reimagined), worker (our digital identities), workplace (where human-centered design must be widespread), and worth (the value exchange between workers and the organization). The book emphasizes that investment in human capital is no longer regarded as a cost and should be framed as a return on investment (ROI.
Part three looks at engineering the future workplace by blending digital and physical work and how to redefine employment value in business cultures. The authors give multiple suggestions from their research, such as their 20 Principles, which any HR person should understand and follow.
The authors conclude the book by presenting the hopeful—that after all the cataclysmic events civilization currently faces, the world will emerge stronger and better. A new renaissance could be upon us—in work, in society, and in life. This theme of engineering a 21st century renaissance is followed by Diplomatic Courier’s sister organization, World in 2050, which looks at how these crises have acted as a catalyst for potentially long-lasting innovations. Charas and Lupushor provide insight into the rebirth of humanized work taking shape, its changing value and nature that will impact all of society.
“Humanizing Human Capital” is made for HR departments and leaders of any business or organization. As someone who doesn’t work in HR, in-depth analyses of situations felt less applicable to me than they would to someone who works in these roles. However, the insights look to the future of work, something that impacts everyone.
Human capital is the core of a company. When workers feel dissatisfied or leave, the organization is weakened, as seen with the ongoing Twitter exodus. Musk and an array of other business superiors seemingly fail to understand that humanized work is the next normal. “Humanizing Human Capital” is a book Musk and any work leader should read.
