Why Do Some Companies Treat Employees Like "Animal" Resources? Let's Discuss!

Please, can you give reasons why some companies treat employees as "Animal" resources?

Thank you.

With an ambition to make huge profits by the employer, sometimes employees are treated badly. Not all companies treat employees in this manner. I assume you are referring to a small/medium-sized company. Typically, these types of companies operate based on the stakeholders' vision. If the stakeholders are not good, situations such as not following any policies or lacking a proper work environment may arise.

In such cases, the HR department should take a step forward to resolve the situation.

Thanks,
Munmun Bhoir

The primary stakeholders in such companies are the absolute owners, and the organization is generally hypothecated. The internal policy is to keep the employees hungry and wanting. There are very few, though, these days, and those disappear as soon as the economy takes a trend change. Such organizations are not scalable and have their fate sealed for a shorter stint.

Another more important reason is that the employees behave like "Animals" by choice. This syndrome is more rampant across industries. Chaotic attitude, lack of planning, insecure reactions, always nodding heads to the bosses without analyzing and questioning, focused on temporary benefits and not on growth, not worried about the organization, self-focused, afraid to speak before the senior management assuming job threat, complacent on acquiring new skills, risk-averse and trying to be risk-proofed, self-blinded to the changes in the world and industry trends, permanent job more important than skills/capabilities are some of the symptoms in general.

Many organizations have policies to manage and control such resources who find it a bit difficult to be human. For all the confident "Human" resources who can differentiate, there are separate policies or exceptions which are mutually beneficial, to both the organization as well as the "Human" Resource.

Hope this helps.

Praveen Kumar Kambhampati

Re: True Meaning of HR

You may feel bad that some companies treat employees as "Animal" resources. Here, the HR role comes in. We are the mediator between Management & Employee, so even if there are challenging working conditions, it is our responsibility to address them and strive to make the working environment better. While we may not be social workers, our role within the organization is somewhat similar. Therefore, by putting in our best efforts to help employees develop, the organization will also flourish.

In conclusion, it is our responsibility.

Regards,
Vaibhav

It is true that some middle-level organizations treat their human resources as animals, but it is not the case with every organization. The basic role of HR is to eliminate such discrimination.

Regards,
Saba Aftab

Dear Arizonas,

With organizations that treat employees as animals, you can't do much. It's their bad luck that despite being in business, they still don't know the tricks of the trade, and even if they do, it's only theoretical.

Well, each experience in life makes us learn new things. Some of my past employers did the same to me, and as a consequence, I ended up pursuing my degree in Labor Law... :) And now no organization can mess with me... lolz.

P.S. - Be aware of your rights as an employee.

Regards,
Rahul Chhabra

As observed in your comments, it is very wrong that few organizations treat employees as Animal Resources. But my observations say that many organizations treat humans not as resources but as consumables, just for use and throw.

I would consider this very subjective to specific companies. I agree, there are companies who do not bother about their employees. However, my thinking is, in any organization, employees are their greatest asset.

Let's take a few scenarios -

Large Company: Although there would be a top-quality employee relations team, not all employees would be happy. Only the top 10% performers become the cream of the company. They are taken care of very well. Non-performers will always be at the ax's end. Well, larger companies will put them in training and try to make them better resources; else, they are out. Companies that successfully manage this become great companies.

Mid-Sized Company: They may have mature HR processes; however, their priority would be to grow into a large company. However, some of the top management team may become all-powerful and may make unwise decisions. Again, top performers will be taken care of; however, they may or may not retrain non-performers. Well, it's a mid-sized company. Companies that manage this become good companies.

Small-Sized Company: They may not have matured HR processes. In case you are part of such a company, be ready to put your heart and soul into the job, whatever position you are in, without even considering if you are treated like an animal. Well, if you put your heart and soul, you will never worry about how you are being treated. Non-performers will constantly be pressurized and will perish. Companies that manage this become successful. Employees who manage this become super successful/heroes.

Not all companies are the same. Not all employees are great performers.

These are just my thoughts. I may be wrong...!!!