From HR to HX: people-oriented organizing as a strategic necessity
Written by: Sven Hogervorst, PhD Researcher & People & Culture Consultant at Rvdb, May 2025
We live in a time of fundamental shifts. Technology is developing at breakneck speed, labor markets are changing, and the expectations we as a society have of organizations are becoming more complex. The call for more humanity in the workplace is getting louder. We want not just efficiency and profit, but well-being, sustainability and meaning.
In the midst of this transition is the field of Human Resource Management. What once began as a support function focused on processes and efficiency is increasingly transforming into a strategic, human discipline: from HR to HX – Human Experience.
Why HX?
The classic HR approach starts from a utilitarian logic: employees are resources to achieve organizational goals. But that model is cracking. The crises of recent years – from pandemics to geopolitical tensions to climate change – are forcing organizations to rethink. We are in a polycrisis, where not only economic resilience matters, but also environmental sustainability and human well-being.
HX proposes a radically different approach: no longer is it solely about the instrumental value of people, but about their intrinsic value. Employees are not resources, but co-shapers of organizations. They are relational, moral, creative – and, above all, human.
A brief history: from Taylor to human dignity
HRM has its origins in the early twentieth century. Think of Frederick Taylor’s scientific management and Henry Ford’s assembly line: efficiency through standardization. Man was seen as an extension of the machine.
Only later did room for a more humane view. The work of Elton Mayo and the famous Hawthorne study marked a tipping point. Suddenly it became clear: people function better when they feel seen and recognized. This was followed by important insights from Maslow (hierarchy of needs), Herzberg (motivation) and Walton (quality of the working relationship). Yet even this “people-centered” approach often continued to serve economic goals. After all, satisfied employees perform better – and that’s good for the bottom line.
What has often been lacking until now is an intrinsic view of people within HR. Not “man as means,” but “man as end. HX wants to restore just that.
HX: a humanistic alternative
Specifically, what does it mean to organize work according to HX principles? It requires a reappraisal of the three Ps – people, planet, profit – where human dignity is structurally considered in policies, systems and leadership. In doing so, we can distinguish three focal points:
1. The workplace: space for flourishing
An HX workplace is more than ergonomic or “cozy”. It is an environment in which people can thrive physically and mentally. According to research (including VanderWeele, 2017), this means attention to meaning, relationships, character development and well-being. This calls for new design questions: How do we facilitate meaning? How do we make space for stillness, concentration, encounter and growth?
(Collaborative) relationships: people as ends in themselves 2.
HX starts from the idea that humans are relational beings. Interaction is not an afterthought – it is the organization. Employees are not cogs in a machine, but full partners. Systems and culture must therefore focus on trust, connection and shared decision-making. No top-down control, but dialogue, co-creation and room for everyone’s voice.
3. Motivation: the power from within
What really moves people? According to Renewed Darwinian Theory of Lawrence and Nohria, there are four universal drives: the will to acquire (recognition), to defend (security), to connect (relationships) and to understand (sense and insight). In many organizations, the emphasis is still on the first two: targets, bonuses, risk management. But the drive to connect and understand are at least as important. HX invites you to take those drives seriously as well: room for curiosity, autonomy, meaning. Not as a luxury, but as a basic condition for sustainable motivation.
From theory to practice: now what?
Human Experience is not woolly idealism. It is a strategic imperative in a world where talent is scarce, complexity is increasing and societal legitimacy is under pressure. Organizations that recognize and strengthen human drives are more resilient, innovative and attractive to work for.
For HR professionals, this means a role shift: from rules manager to strategic connector. From “compliance” to culture. From evaluating to developing. For leaders it means: steering less on control, steering more on trust. It requires courage, reflection, and above all: a different view of people. And for organizations as a whole, it means working on meaning, collaboration and values-driven leadership.
Finally, an invitation
HX is not a ready-made model. It is an invitation to rediscovery: of the profession, of the organization – and of people. Because if we really take seriously what drives people, we can build organizations in which people not only work, but also live, learn and grow.
It’s time to reinvent HR. Bye bye Human Resources, Hello Human Experience.