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‘Remove 90% of HR’: Workforce strategist calls human resources ‘useless’, sparks debate

Posting on X, Goodall argued that HR teams don’t bring in revenue and mainly function to shield companies rather than support workers.

3 min readNew DelhiJan 17, 2026 03:29 PM IST

Workforce strategist Amanda Goodall calls HR ‘useless’

Goodall's verdict was deliberately provocative: most organisations, she claimed, would actually function better without the bulk of HR

A sharp post by workforce strategist Amanda Goodall, better known on social media as @thejobchick, has once again sparked a fierce conversation about how useful — or useless — Human Resources departments really are in today’s workplaces.

Posting on X, Goodall didn’t hold back. She argued that HR teams don’t bring in revenue, often lower employee morale with rigid rules, and mainly function to shield companies rather than support workers. Her verdict was deliberately provocative: most organisations, she claimed, would actually function better without the bulk of HR.

“HR is the only department that gets a free pass for being completely useless,” she wrote, adding that it “produce zero revenue, kill morale with endless policies, protect the company NOT you.” Goodall went on to say that if “90% of HR” disappeared overnight, businesses would run “smoother, faster, and happier,” ending her post with a challenge: “Change my mind.”

Check out the post:

HR is the only department that gets a free pass for being completely useless.

They produce zero revenue, kill morale with endless policies, protect the company NOT you, and somehow still get invited to every meeting like they’re essential.

Remove 90% of HR tomorrow and the…

— Amanda Goodall (@thejobchick) January 12, 2026

The tweet spread rapidly across X, LinkedIn and private work chats, striking a chord at a moment when many employees are still dealing with the fallout of layoffs, burnout, and constant restructuring. With AI-driven efficiency drives and growing mistrust between workers and leadership, Goodall’s blunt take seemed to put into words a frustration many already felt.

The comment section quickly filled with strong opinions. One user compared HR to “the government inside your company,” saying most employees would be better off without it. Another user commented, “I’d argue HR doesn’t protect the company either. Typically, their policies and approaches completely stifle creativity and risk-taking.”

A third person added, “The more HR is allowed to insert themselves into the business, the lower the value of the business will be. A large company with a small HR department focused on recruiting and personnel legal issues will outperform any company with a large HR department.”

A fourth individual wrote, “It’s an employment scheme for workers not suitable for other positions. This same dynamic is now taking over most product manager roles.”

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Not surprisingly, HR professionals pushed back. Many said the value of their work is easy to miss precisely because it happens behind the scenes. When legal issues are avoided, compliance problems are handled early, or harmful behaviour is addressed before it escalates, there’s rarely any visible credit.

One user summed up that defence bluntly: “If we played by your rules, those businesses would face hundreds of lawsuits requiring massive litigation that would far exceed the cost of an HR department. My guess is sexual harassment cases would go through the roof.”