This document discusses the negative impacts of digital workplace systems on employee stress, productivity, and work. It notes that enterprise software is often poorly designed, unintuitive, and implemented in an uncoordinated way. This creates an unprecedented cognitive load for employees and causes stress, frustration, and feelings of being controlled. Poor digital work environments can reduce productivity by up to 17% and negatively impact businesses. The document calls for a user-centered approach to digital work design that empowers employees and reduces bureaucracy in accordance with health and safety laws.

1. The digital workplace
Jonas Söderström • IDA Arbejdsmiljø, København • 21 oktober 2015
Cognitive load & Bureaucracy 2.0

2. @jonas_blind_hen
#IDA
#arbeidsmiljø
#stupidsystem

3. Stockholm • Göteborg • Malmö
@inuse_swe

5. 1994 –

6. Create new document

8. Enterprise
software
is far behind

9. ”One year of
incorrect salaries”

10. sep 2011 – sep 2012
2 757 hours
of overtime

11. ”Salaries will
be incorrect during
all of 2013
because finding the right new
routines will take time”
HR Manager

13. The digital workplace
as a cause
of stress

14. Angry, stressed,
frustrated with IT
3400 2012
M T W T F

15. Angry, stressed,
frustrated with IT
3400 2012
M T W T F

16. Biggest source of
frustration in the office?
1. Slow web applications
2. Computer
3. Printer
4. Boss
5. Meetings
1000 2012

17. 0
5
10
15
Insecure 24h work On alert Dangers
26 %
Causing stress
IT Systems
3700 2013

18. from 145 to 313 clicks
New system
Renew weapons licence
mean 2 hr 52 m
Write 1 report, shoplifting

19. Typical
causes

20. Too many
systems

21. Treserva (social security system)
WebbSotis (old social security system)
Giraff (internal invoicing)
Horisonten (accounting)
Prognosprogram (economy)
Winst (procurement portal)
Rappet (client reports)
Personec (HR reports)
Time Care (work schedule)
Winlas Webb (temps worked hours)
Time Care pool (assigning temps)
Lisa (accident reporting)
Adato (rehabilitation process management)
Offentliga jobb (recruiting)
Telephone self-service system

22. Karolinska Institute
Library, Feb. 18
110 employees
117 systems

24. • Put in vacation plans - how often?
• Hard to learn
• ”...how did you handle this system, then?”
• Even if each system is used quite seldom …
• … some system is used each month or week.
Used seldom, but ...

25. Systems are
different

26. 11.11.15
11-11-15
2015-11-11
15.11.11
1959-03-21-1273
590321-1273
19590321-1273
195903211273

28. John reports hours worked in two systems:
one uses comma, the other point
1,5 hrs 1.5 hrs

29. What happens if he uses a comma
in the system that wants a point?
1,5 hrs 1,5 hrs

30. System ignores comma and records 15
hours, without any error message.
15 hrs

31. x-ray delta one/flickr under a cc-license
OUR
PROJECT

32. The user’s
experience
pchweat/flickrundercc-license

34. Implementation:
Quick
Uncoordinated

35. Major hospital
➡ IP telephony
➡ Pascal, pharmacy system
➡TakeCare (EMR)
➡ ICF
➡ Smart card login, new functionality
M T O T F M T O T F ML S L S
Early summer 2013

36. Burden
of vigilance

38. stupidsystem.org:
The doctor that rocks the mouse
Photo: Henrik Ahlén

39. Inferior
design

40. 1 2 3 4
Next >>
Basket Shipping Confirm Pay

41. How to pay the invoice?

42. Digital systems
typically has
weak signigifiers
(affordances)

43. This creates an
unprecedented
level of cognitive
load

44. cognitive load
at an
unprecedented
level
Consequences:

45. But people
are also
ingenious

46. Photo: Richard Gatarski

47. Photo: Richard Gatarski

48. But it’s not
just a design
issue

49. Chores,
not work

50. IT
command
&
control
+

51. NPM
Excessive
documentation
Process managment

52. ”... all the software
designed to save us from
administrative
responsibilities turned us
into part- or full-time
administrators”
David Graeber

54. Electronic Health
Records:
”created the need for
another person”

55. Digital systems means
new possibilities ...
... for bureaucrats,
too.

56. Controls my work
”in an annoying
and unreasonable way”
8000 Unionen, 2012

57. Digital
taylorism

58. lack of trust
creating
conscience
stress
Consequences:
”
”

59. Business
impacts

60. Sand Hill 2012 Enterprise systems study
17% end user productivity loss
300
”The economic value
of losses outweighs
100% of total IT spend.
Ouch.”

61. First
definition of
”digital work
environment”

62. Any part of the working
environment where you
interact with
or are
controlled by digital
systems

63. Digital work enivironment
Technical
quality
Adapted
to humans
and task
Impact on the
way we work

64. Good
simple,
intuitive
easy to find,
hard to make
mistakes,
good training
no
crashes,
fast
network,
instant
feedback
flexibility, simplified administration,
focus on core tasks, empowerment, freedom
Stability,
speed
Adapted
to humans
and task
Changing the
way we work

65. Bad
too many
clicks,
hard to find,
easy to make
mistakes,
poor or no
training
crashes,
printer
trouble,
slow
network
unflexibile, burdensome administration,
layoffs, dis-empowerment, surveillance
Stability,
speed
Adapted
to humans
and task
Changing the
way we work

66. Digital work
environment
the whole picture

67. digital aspects of
work environment
social &
organizational
aspects of
work
environment
physical
aspects of work
environment

68. digital aspects of
work environment
social &
organizational
aspects of
work
environment
physical
aspects of work
environment
Mouse arm
iPad neck
SMS-thumb
sight
command &
control,
surveillance,
distrust,
etc

69. Physical + digital:
The control room

76. What
to do?

77. Call to action

78. ”ict stress”

79. digital work
enivironment

80. See the whole
picture

81. ”IT-rond”

82. Bild: Karin Båtelson, överläkare SU

83. • 6 åtgärdas direkt – install/inställningsfel
• 5 handhavandefel/bristande info
till användare
• 37 st ligger på Meliorförv
• 4 st regional IT-avdelning
• 5 st Nät
• ... och så vidare
70 problem

84. Bild: Karin Båtelson, överläkare SU
Verksamhetschef
IT-ansvarig på olika nivåer
Systemleverantör
Läkare(/ssk/sekr)

85. Competence in
interaction
design,
usability and IT

86. Are you really
empowering users?

87. Fight stress
Fight bureacracy
Empower and
delight users
We need to

88. Empowerment
Trust
Self-organizing
Freedom
Control
Distrust
vs

89. Legislation

90. Technology, the organization
and content of work shall be
designed so that the employee
is not subjected to physical or
mental stress that can lead to
illness or accidents.
Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 2, § 1.
(Norwegian law is similar)

91. The employee shall be given
the opportunity to participate
in shaping their own work
situation and in change
and in development
relating to his own work.
Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 2, § 1.
(Norwegian law is similar)

92. Planer om indretning eller
ændring af lokaler, tekniske
anlæg og hjælpemidler m.v.
skal forelægges Arbejdstilsynet
til udtalelse eller godkendelse,
før de bringes til udførelse.
Arbejdsmiljøloven, Kapitel 6, § 44

93. Planer om indretning eller
ændring af lokaler, tekniske
anlæg og hjælpemidler m.v.
skal forelægges Arbejdstilsynet
til udtalelse eller godkendelse,
før de bringes til udførelse.
Arbejdsmiljøloven, Kapitel 6, § 44
USER-CENTERED
DESIGN:
IT’S THE LAW

94. Reality check

95. Not allowed their say
in IT project
2008 2010 2014
44 %
58 %
66 %
3 x ca 1000 Unionen

96. The work environment shall be
satisfactory in view of the
social and technological
developments in society.
Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 2, § 1.
(Norwegian law is similar)

97. © Jan Gulliksen, Bengt Göransson and Åsa Cajander
15 years

98. Demand ”consumer-
grade usability”

99. Thank you!Mail:
jonas.soderstrom@inuse.se
Twitter:
@Jonas_Blind_Hen
Site:
stupidsystem.org
inuse.se
Speakerdeck:
Jonas Söderström
Bild: Pelle Sten

101. Further reading 1
David Boyle:
The Human
Element
Gary Hamel:
What matters
now
John Seddon:
Freedom from
Command &
Control

102. Further reading 2
Gojko Adzic:
Impactmapping
impactmapping.org
Henrik Kniberg:
How we got rid of time reports
– a story of waste elimination
http://bit.ly/1m7424d

103. Sources & links
”A Busy Doctor’s Right Hand, Ever Ready to Type”
NY Times, Jan. 12, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/health/a-busy-
doctors-right-hand-ever-ready-to-type.html
26% of first responders stressed by IT systems
Arnetz, 2012: ”Det här är inte vilket yrke som helst!”
Reviewed in Swedish here: http://javlaskitsystem.se/
2014/08/it-system-stressar-blaljuspersonalen-mer-an-
faror-och-obekvama-arbetstider/

104. 17% end user productivity loss:
2012 IT Adoption Insight Survey Reveals Disturbing
Level of Enterprise Productivity Loss (March 5, 2012)
http://sandhill.com/article/2012-it-adoption-insight-
survey-reveals-disturbing-level-of-enterprise-
productivity-loss/
David Graeber on administration
”Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit”
The Baffler, March 2012
http://thebaffler.com/past/of_flying_cars
Sources & links