"Stupid bloody system!" That is something that a lot of user have muttered at work; over computer systems, databases, intranets that are hard to navigate and impossible to comprehend - but that you are obliged to use, nevertheless. Although every new computer system is designed to save time and make work easier, we just seem to get more and more stressed. Why? Indeed, stress in the workplace has been soaring since the mid-nineties, and has now replaced back pain as the primary cause of absenteeism. In this presentation, I show how bad computer systems have created eight concurrent kinds of work-related stress - mostly related to an unnecessary cognitive load. The biggest strain from computer work is no longer on your elbow or eyes; it is on your brain. To a great extent, this has been overlooked by the traditional field of occupational health and safety. And ven the people affected tend to blame not the systems, but themselves: "I'm too old. I guess I'm stupid." This presentation was presented at the Work with Computing Systems conference in Stockholm 2007.

1. Jonas Söderström inUse AB ” Stupid bloody system!” Cognitive stress from today’s fragmented digital work environment – the users’ view

3. It’s not always a total catastrophe, but …

7. What has happened? Eight concurrent reasons why the users are becoming frustrated and stressed-out

16. Examples: Complicated structure

17. Too much information

22. … it’s all about the digital work environment

30. [email_address] Questions? Thank you!