By Gregory A. Farley

For every technological marvel that we can harness and put to work, there is a downside: an unwanted "revenge effect" that is often more troubling, more daunting, than the problem we originally sought to solve.

That's the underlying truth of Edward Tenner's book, "Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences." A classic example of a revenge effect can be found in the pharmaceuticals industry. Advances in microbiology have aided in the development of new drugs for battling disease and infection. The revenge effect? The use of these new drugs has encouraged or accelerated the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and viruses.

A less classic example is the barbershop. Technology made it possible to manufacture the barber's precision tools with high grade steel, and indoor plumbing encouraged increased fastidiousness among the populace. The revenge effect? Barbershop quartets.


Revenge effects in the office
Within the white-collar world, the revenge effect seems to echo Newton's Law: For every tiresome task that we can automate, we create an equal (and sometimes hazardous) tiresome task.

For example, productivity gains in clerical work come at the price of increased workers compensation claims arising from cumulative trauma disorders (such as carpal tunnel syndrome). Further, the sedentary nature of most office work, and the development of computer networks that make even short walks and discussions in the office unnecessary and unproductive, have resulted in a less healthy work force. And ergonomic seating, developed to lessen the negative effects of the office work environment, often exacerbates cumulative trauma because users are not thoroughly trained in their use.


You did back that up, didn't you?
Those physical revenge effects are only half the story, for revenge effects work against efficiency as well. The most common is for hardware to fail as you grow to expect that it will not. Faster, bigger, more reliable hard drives still fail. And if we've grown to expect them not to and fail to take proper precautions, it can be devastating. 3M Company reports that 30 percent of computer users lose data every year. To replace that data takes an estimated 24 million business days.

Tenner sums up another insidious revenge effect of workplace computing thus:

The relentless speed and efficiency promised by microcomputers and networks, their computation capacity doubling every eighteen months, has a catch. The more powerful systems have become, the more human time it takes to maintain them, to develop the software, to resolve the bugs and conflicts, to learn new versions, to fiddle with options.

Amen. The spiral of upgrading to new systems — learning the software and cursing the hardware, then learning the hardware and cursing the software — is a revenge effect well known to most office workers. But Tenner sheds more light on the situation, suggesting that the productivity that we eventually do gain comes at the expense of our core competencies ... by making the most highly paid workers in an organization less productive.


Who does the grunt work?
When an enterprise decides to downsize, it is generally "support" staff that gets it in the neck. Without support staff to write letters, stuff envelopes and fill out address labels, those chores fall upon professional staff. Those simple tasks keep engineers from performing their engineering duties. Schedulers have less time for scheduling. Forecasters have less time for forecasting.

An American Manufacturing Association study found that only 43 percent of companies that adopted a downsizing strategy actually showed bottom-line improvement. Profits fell in 24 percent of downsized companies. And every company that reported an increase in worker productivity was offset by another that saw productivity fall.

Computers and networks are tools for empowerment. But technology is often being used to empower managers to perform secretarial and clerical functions. With less time available to work within their areas of expertise, highly paid professionals are unable to develop new products or strategies for their enterprises.

Sometimes a technology is simply used by the wrong people (for instance, magazine editors should rarely be allowed to work with page layout or design software) or by improperly trained personnel. The affordability of color ink jet printers is encouraging professionals in all walks to use color in correspondence and in presentation materials. The revenge effect is that the psychological meanings of some colors or combinations of colors could be creating powerful negative messages.


The news isn't all bad
So what strategy do you adopt to counter revenge effects? It probably doesn't matter. It's unlikely that you'll see these effects coming, and your competition faces the same problems ... the playing field is level. What can make a difference is vigilance and preparation. The technology that surrounds you is not a solution — it is a tool. And tools sometimes break. Prepare for it. Revenge effects will never be your ally, but they could vanquish your competition nonetheless.

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