{
  "title": "Time management: does automation really free up time?",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-du-temps-automatiser-libere-t-il-du-temps-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2026-01-25",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Automating a task does not necessarily make time available. Research invites us to examine the work automation shifts, rather than just the operation it speeds up.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Time Management & Prioritisation",
  "place": {
    "name": "Zurich",
    "region": "Zurich",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "What the literature establishes",
      "point": "Lisanne Bainbridge (1983, Automatica) describes the “ironies of automation”: removing routine operations from an operator’s role can leave that person monitoring the system and handling the most difficult situations."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A mechanism: actual use matters as much as the tool",
      "point": "Raja Parasuraman and Victor Riley (1997, Human Factors) distinguish the use of automation, overreliance, underuse and inappropriate design or deployment decisions."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The premature conclusion",
      "point": "One might infer that every automation initiative eventually costs as much time as it saves."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The limits of the evidence and conventional calculations",
      "point": "These two papers offer a conceptual analysis and a research review, not a measurement of time savings in Zurich businesses."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Zurich",
      "point": "As part of SHR’s “[Time Management & Prioritisation](/formation/gestion-du-temps/zurich)” programme, a Zurich team can test the automation of a recurring report, whether it works in finance, insurance, tech or a European headquarters."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Bainbridge",
      "year": "1983",
      "source": "Automatica"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Riley",
      "year": "1997",
      "source": "Human Factors"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 417,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2026-01-25-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-du-temps-automatiser-libere-t-il-du-temps",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-du-temps-automatiser-libere-t-il-du-temps-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-du-temps-automatiser-libere-t-il-du-temps-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-du-temps-automatiser-libere-t-il-du-temps-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/gestion-du-temps/zurich",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/zurich",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}