Which Cognitive Biases can Exacerbate our Workload?

Abstract

Despite the advent of technologies that enhance productivity, the workload of many individuals, including psychologists, remains onerous, provoking burnout and similar complications. Although the circumstances that mitigate or exacerbate the effects of workload have been studied extensively, the antecedents of these demands have not been established definitively. Without this insight, managers cannot be sure of which practices are likely to contain the workload of individuals. To resolve this shortfall, we first pose the possibility that many cognitive biases, heuristics, and illusions may, at least partly, explain elevated levels of workload. Specifically, we demonstrate that 14 established biases, such as the restraint bias and IKEA effect, are likely to prolong work hours and increase the demands on individuals. For example, according to research on the restraint bias, individuals tend to inflate their capacity to inhibit their temptations and, therefore, may overestimate their ability to work extensive hours. Second, we show that all these biases can be divided into four constellations-self-enhancement, stable worldviews, need for closure, and just world-each of which tends to dissipate whenever people experience a sense of meaning in their lives. These observations, therefore, imply that attempts to foster meaning may contain the workload of workers.

What Can Public Health Administration Learn from the Decision-Making Processes during COVID-19?

“…The first step is to examine the workplace environment within public health administrative organisations to determine whether this may be exacerbating cognitive biases. Moss et al showed how a workplace environment that fostered a sense of meaning and purpose in people's lives could alleviate a number of cognitive biases [53]. Their particular focus was how these biases were related to burnout [53], which had been demonstrated in public administration, as well as in many other workplaces [54].…”

“…Moss et al showed how a workplace environment that fostered a sense of meaning and purpose in people's lives could alleviate a number of cognitive biases [53]. Their particular focus was how these biases were related to burnout [53], which had been demonstrated in public administration, as well as in many other workplaces [54]. A workplace environment that could reduce a number of biases simultaneously could also improve the decision-making capability, which could then be related back to the central definition of policy capacity.…”

“…A related research agenda is to provide some typology of biases and mitigation strategies that can be applied within a public health administration context. Moss et al conducted a systematic review of cognitive biases related to workload and burnout and distilled this list down to 14 biases [53]. They grouped these 14 biases into 4 conceptual categories, demonstrating how a workplace environment that provided meaning could address all these biases.…”

Initiatives that diminish the biases of recruiters against people who disclose or demonstrate a diagnosed mental disorder

“…To conduct this review, we first identified existing taxonomies of biases from both consultation with researchers in decision making and literature searches. Three taxonomies were utilized (see Baron, 1994; Krueger and Funder, 2004; Moss et al , 2016).…”