Human capital is the most important element of any business or organization. Human capital refers to the skills, knowledge, experience, loyalty and health individuals bring each and every day to work with them. I am sure most of you can relate to the feeling, at times, of simply being an expendable, de-humanized cog in a larger corporate wheel, when it comes to your work and career. A poll conducted by Gallup found that out of the world’s one billion full-time workers, an astronomical 85% of them are unhappy in their jobs! Some of the factors which contribute to this disturbing statistic are: one’s relationship with their manager/boss; one’s relationships with co-workers; the type of work one performs and how meaningful it is to the individual; being overworked and burned out; little to no opportunities for growth and development; difference in one’s personal ethics and the company’s ethics; jealousy towards other workers and those who have more than you do–i.e. social comparison; long commutes to and from work; little to no paid time off or sick leave; poor job security and company loyalty; etc.

Not too long ago our parents would go to work at a company and spend 20, 30, 40+ years working there. One could start at the bottom and work their way up the corporate ladder of success. There was loyalty and respect between the employer and employee. That mutual respect and understanding is long gone now. Nowadays, when it comes to increasing the bottom line and doing whatever it takes to hit earnings estimates for stockholders and investors, most companies don’t think twice about laying off hundreds of employees at the drop of a hat—regardless of their loyalty, time and dedication to the company over years and years. When it comes time to cut costs, the most important thing to a company–its human capital–is first to go.

The companies themselves are not to blame for this however, I believe–rather it is the macro-economic system the companies operate within, and the indirect pressures put on them by unregulated capitalism driven by an unrealistic infinite growth paradigm. It’s time for the paradigm to change, so that the environment in which all businesses and individuals operate changes as well.

What is Human Capital

Let’s be honest here, as much as we would like to think we have a completely free market capitalistic society, in which markets regulate themselves via competition and supply/demand, that reality is FAR from the truth when we consider the influences of corporate special interest lobbying, unfair trade deals/advantages, propping up struggling industries via huge government subsidies, and frequent corruption and greed. The reality is that as long as human beings are involved with anything, there will be greed, corruption, and unethical, selfish behaviors—unless they are held accountable. Which is why we need to start holding ourselves and others accountable for the decisions we make on a daily basis.

Since politicians and business leaders too often are not going to do what’s right and help create change on their own, we the people collectively, together, must change the way we spend our time and money, in order to bring about the change we desire. We must create an easy way to identify and support those people and businesses who are treating their employees as the most valuable part of their operations—and show it through good compensation, health benefits, paid time off, sick leave, and child/elder care services. We need to support businesses who make smart, long-term decisions based on reasonable growth prospects, and don’t take foolish risks to enhance earnings in the short term. Wouldn’t you want your mother, father, son or daughter to be treated and valued as a human being by their employer—treated with respect and kindness for the hard work they perform day in and day out? Let’s help make that a reality by supporting the people and businesses that go out of their way to support human capital development, so that it will force the ones who do not, to change their ways or go out of business.