When Software Makes Us Sick
Poorly designed software shapes the digital workday for millions of employees. Navigating endless dropdown menus and cryptic icons every day drains motivation and eventually, mental well-being. A recent study from Germany shows that the quality of workplace software has measurable effects on stress, burnout, and engagement. In contrast, user-friendly tools give energy back and help teams thrive. This article explores why usability isn’t a technical side note, but a critical factor in whether we work with motivation or burn out in front of our screens.
Monday, 9:15 a.m.: Eva opens the CRM system she needs to process customer requests. A cryptic error message pops up twice. Then her screen freezes. After five minutes of fighting through a ticketing system labyrinth, her pulse is rising, and her mood is sinking. What may seem like a minor technical glitch is everyday reality for many office workers.
We tend to tolerate such friction, brushing it off as “just how the software works.” But over time, persistent usability issues don’t just slow people down, they wear them out. In some cases, they can even lead to serious mental health effects. Poorly designed digital tools exhaust employees.
What’s often overlooked: the quality of the software we work with is a crucial factor for our psychological well-being. When digital tools get in the way rather than supporting our work, they drain energy, focus, and motivation. A new study from Germany sheds light on this issue, with striking results.
Digital Well-being Is Not a Luxury
When people hear “digital well-being,” they often think of screen time or constant smartphone notifications. But the term is broader. It refers to how technology shapes our psychological and social health — for better or worse. In the workplace, the quality of digital tools plays a major role. If they’re fast, intuitive, and helpful, they promote focus, autonomy, and productivity. If they’re clunky, slow, or error-prone, they cost cognitive energy — and in the worst case, motivation and health.
So far, few studies have explored how → Usability (the perceived ease of use of software) affects psychosocial factors like burnout or motivation. That’s where this new study comes in. It takes usability seriously, not just as a technical metric but as a psychosocial factor — on par with time pressure or social support at work.
Usability as Both Strain and Resource
The study is based on data from 589 employees in Germany, all of whom use digital tools as a central part of their work. The core question: how does perceived usability affect workers’ sense of exhaustion or engagement?
The researchers applied the well-established Job Demands–Resources model (→ JDR). This framework distinguishes two pathways: a health-impairment path (where high demands lead to stress and burnout) and a motivational path (where supportive resources foster engagement and energy). The study hypothesizes that usability affects both pathways: it can be either a strain or a resource, depending on the quality.
And that’s exactly what the results show: employees who experience their software as user-friendly perceive their digital work environment as less stressful and feel better supported. Poor usability, on the other hand, increases perceived strain, leading to more stress and emotional exhaustion. These effects are statistically significant, meaning usability isn’t just a “nice-to-have,” but a core factor in how people emotionally experience their work.
Study Reference:
Usability of Workplace Software as a Psychosocial Factor: A Structural Equation Model of Work Engagement, Burnout, and Affective Well-Being
von Tim-Can Werning & Andreas Hinderks, 30. Juni 2025
The study’s findings are clear: the more user-friendly digital work tools are, the more engaged employees tend to be, and the lower their levels of burnout symptoms. Even a relatively small increase in perceived usability (from “okay” to “good”) is associated with a measurable rise in engagement and a notable drop in emotional exhaustion.
The statistical model explains nearly half (42%) of the variance in work engagement and about one-third (33%) in burnout; strong results by social science standards. One of the study’s most compelling insights is usability’s dual role: It can act as a burden (when poor) or as a source of energy and control (when good). In practice, that means improving usability has a double benefit: it reduces strain and increases motivation at the same time.
In today’s digital workplace, where nearly every job relies on software, this is a strong argument for treating usability not just as an IT or security issue, but as a fundamental part of healthy work design.
Between Burnout and Flow: Software as a Driver
The study also highlights a critical connection between software quality and key psychological outcomes like burnout and engagement. Poor usability increases perceived demands and burnout risk. Good usability, by contrast, provides psychological relief. Not just in the moment, but through lasting patterns.
Work engagement (the state of being energized, dedicated, and absorbed in one’s work) is strongly influenced by perceived usability. The resource function is key: intuitive software returns a sense of control, enables fast wins, and facilitates collaboration. These factors support core psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness; all of which are crucial for long-term motivation and well-being.
What Organizations Can Do
The conclusions of the study are clear: anyone who provides software in the workplace is also making a decision about the working climate and employees’ mental health. Good usability reduces the likelihood of stress-related absences, improves performance, and strengthens commitment to the employer.
This leads to several concrete recommendations: organizations should not limit usability checks to isolated IT projects but instead establish them as a fixed part of workplace risk assessments. Employees should regularly have the opportunity to give feedback and contribute to further development. Training and onboarding also play an important role: in many cases, the full potential of digital tools remains untapped simply because users lack the necessary knowledge or the initial setup is not intuitive enough.
Particularly effective is participatory design: that is, involving users early in development and selection processes. After all, those who will later use the software know best what is needed. This approach helps prevent misalignments and increases acceptance within the team.
Empowering Users, Too
Of course, not everything lies in the hands of organizations or developers. Users themselves can also influence their digital well-being — and they can do so on several levels. Taking the time to learn keyboard shortcuts or customize interfaces can reduce everyday friction. Exchanging helpful workarounds or useful plug-ins within the team can be just as effective as consciously taking regular digital breaks.
It’s also important to note: complaints about poor usability should not be dismissed as mere “whining.” They often reflect real sources of strain — and can point to where improvements are needed. In many cases, even small adjustments can lead to noticeable relief.
Conclusion: Design Software That Supports Us
The study makes one thing clear: usability is not just a technical detail. It is a central factor for psychological well-being in the digital workplace. It determines whether we work with energy and motivation, or sit in front of our screens feeling frustrated and stressed.
Those who design digital tools also bear responsibility for how engaged and motivated employees feel when interacting with them. The good news: investing in better usability pays off for individual users, for teams, and for entire organizations.
In a working world that is becoming increasingly digital, it’s high time we start thinking of software not just as functional, but as human-centered.
The Project
In the project [ Digital Well-Being ], our goal is to study the impact of technology on people, communicate about study results, and sustainably improve employees’ mental health by enhancing their digital work environment.
At the core of our approach is the mindful use of digital technologies and the design of user-friendly software solutions that support everyday work instead of adding to the burden.