Negative Judgments on the Legitimacy of HR in Social Media: The Ekşisözlük Case

This study aims to explore the negative judgments regarding the legitimacy of human resources (HR) departments, whose organizational role and professional standing are frequently debated, as expressed on social media. User-generated comments on Ekşisözlük, one of Turkey’s leading social media platforms, were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. These negative judgments toward HR were interpreted within the framework of legitimacy theory. The dataset consists of 1,179 entries posted under a variety of HR-related headings on Ekşisözlük. The analysis revealed that negative perceptions of HR were categorized under three main themes: instrumental legitimacy, relational legitimacy, and moral legitimacy. The findings indicate that perceptions of HR in Turkey are closely tied to cultural norms, hierarchical workplace relationships, and the degree of institutionalization. It is anticipated that the results will contribute to ongoing academic and public discussions on the legitimacy of HR, while also offering HR professionals and organizational leaders a deeper understanding of social media-based perceptions.