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Taking people into account in accounting is a project that has been the subject of several different accounting frameworks. Whatever the model, ambiguity prevails when it comes to interpreting the human element, cast as both a productive force and a resource to be preserved. More specifically, we believe it is possible to identify three families of different approaches. We offer a presentation of each conceptual framework and its philosophical foundations. To embody each of these readings, we illustrate them using the example of the management of psychosocial risks and suffering at work, and then take a critical look at the ambiguities or failures of these approaches. We show that, in the end, these approaches share a fairly similar vision of the human being. Finally, we propose to overcome these limitations by adopting a relational ontology of humans.