Face‐to‐Face With Administrative Burdens: Design Simplification, Emotional Costs, and Procedural Outcomes in Digital Welfare Applications

Original

Face‐to‐Face With Administrative Burdens: Design Simplification, Emotional Costs, and Procedural Outcomes in Digital Welfare Applications

Fabian Hattke, Judith Hattke, David Hensel, Pamela Herd, Janne Kalucza, Donald P. Moynihan, Rick Vogel

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent scholarship on administrative burden has increasingly focused on psychological costs, design interventions, and digital burdens. This study combines these interests and examines the psychological costs of negative emotions during administrative encounters at varying levels of digital maturity. Building on affective events theory and employing facial coding in a controlled experiment, the study demonstrates that negative emotions rise during bureaucratic encounters, with frustration resulting in more errors made by applicants. Simplifying the procedure through pre‐filled forms does not reduce negative emotional arousal; however, it enhances satisfaction with the procedure. Vulnerable citizens, as indicated by low education and foreign citizenship, benefit more from this informational integration than other groups, suggesting that procedural redesign can enhance the inclusiveness of public service delivery. Overall, the research advances both scholarly and practical understanding of the emotional dimension of administrative burdens from a process‐oriented perspective, highlighting the persistent challenge of reducing emotional costs to enhance citizen experiences.