This quote from the study hit me.
So many people are unhappy with the amount of unproductive work they do (e.g. administration work for doctors). But no one wants to change it?
My takeaway was that while doctors hate the very structured process and busywork, the hospital admins think it is better for the patient and better for the institution.
In some ways it makes sense. It's hard to refine and make a process consistent when every doctor does things different or doesn't properly record everything. On the other hand it removes a lot of agency from the doctors and leaves them unfulfilled.
It's mass production principles applied to "knowledge" work.
There was a time when one person would make a whole chair. I imagine it was at least somewhat fulfilling to transform a bunch of wood into a functional object.
As time went on it became clear that it was more efficient to break it into component parts, blah blah blah, assembly line. After the assembly line (but before automation) there were a lot of people "making" chairs, but I'm sure the guy fixing the right arm in place didn't feel as fulfilled as the original craftsperson.
We're getting that to some degree in hospitals now. Hospital admins want the ability to tinker with procedure, to know what's going on in a real, measured way and maximize efficiency. It just so happens that it leaves the doctors a whole hell of a lot less fulfilled.
[0] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/12/why-doctors-ha...