The Worst Word in the workplace. An AI reprocessed legacy post
I wrote a post about the word 'resource' many years ago.
https://leedare-plex2e.blogspot.com/2016/10/feeling-resourcefulnot.html
Today for a little bit of fun, I asked 'co-pilot' to refactor it, add humour and energy. This was the result! Quite impressive if you ask me.
Thanks for reading and don't bother reading the original as 'Co-pilot' did way better!
Lee.
Let’s get one thing straight: my most hated word at work is not f$%k, tosser, w&^%er, or even the dreaded “c-word” (and no, I don’t mean Christmas). Those are fine in context — usually shouted across a pub table after someone’s nicked your chips.
The word that makes me twitch, the one that should be banished from every office, is this:
Resource.
“We don’t have the resource.” “I’ll check the resource schedule.”
Every time I hear it, a little part of my soul packs its bags and heads for the door.
Why “Resource” Is Rubbish
Calling people “resources” is corporate code for: you’re replaceable, interchangeable, and about as personal as a stapler.
Once upon a time, companies had Personnel Departments — actual humans looking after actual humans. Then came the Americanisation: Human Resources. That was the moment we stopped being people with skills and started being reference numbers with salary ceilings.
And if your company still talks about you as a “resource”? Time to polish your CV, or at least stand up and say: No thanks, I’m not coal.
People ≠ Commodities
Let’s remember what a resource really is: coal, sugar, soybeans, oil, cocoa, tin, steel. All fine words for things you can burn, melt, or trade on an exchange.
But last time I checked:
Coal hasn’t written a single C# function.
Sugar hasn’t debugged a parsing algorithm.
Soybeans haven’t offered counselling.
Oil hasn’t built a school.
Humans do those things. Humans with talent, experience, and the kind of domain knowledge you can’t just order off Amazon Prime.
The IT Angle
I work in software engineering. Sure, you need technical chops — databases, languages, platforms. But you also need business knowledge, context, and the ability to translate messy real-world problems into clean code.
Thinking you can pluck someone off the street and have them instantly productive on a complex system? That’s not “resource planning.” That’s fantasy football.
Better Words Exist
Open a thesaurus and you’ll find words that actually respect people:
These words recognise skill. They acknowledge contribution. They don’t reduce you to a consumable item that can be replenished like printer paper.
My Crusade
Project managers love “resource.” Middle managers (especially the 6ft 5” ones with clipboards) practically bathe in it. But every time I hear it, I cringe.
So I’ve made it my mission: wherever I work, I beat the drum to eradicate this corporate cancer. Replace it with Capability, Skills, Staffing, Talent, Capacity — anything that reminds us we’re humans, not coal.
Final Word
If you’re reading this and still calling your colleagues “resources,” stop. Unless you genuinely believe Dave from Accounts is interchangeable with a sack of soybeans.
Words matter. Use better ones.
Moan over.
Thanks for reading the
Synon 2E and Plex Emporium by Lee Dare (A developer blog).
Lee.
