 Written By: Vivian Benjamin
I don't think humans realised this but our society may have turned humans into objects that don't think. We are surrounded by boxes to tick. Tasks to complete. Expectations to meet. Milestones to reach. Yet somewhere along the way, completion can become more important than comprehension. We can become so focused on doing what is required that we stop asking whether what is required still makes sense. Why are we so willing to accept a life where ticking the box has become more important than understanding why the box exists in the first place? Why do we follow instructions without understanding them? When did you last stop and genuinely question something? Humans have minds capable of questioning, reasoning, imagining and challenging assumptions, but are we actually giving those abilities enough room? Are we actually thinking before ticking the box or before following a procedure? Thinking isn't the same as worrying. Thinking isn't the same as consuming more information. Thinking isn't the same as having an opinion. Thinking sometimes simply means stopping long enough to ask, “Why?”  Not every box is a bad thing. In fact, some boxes are necessary. The problem comes when we forget that the box is there to serve a purpose, not to replace human thinking. We always say in the health industry, “not one size fits all” – meaning we have to look at the individual holistically, from every angle, before deciding on a treatment plan or diet plan, because the same box ticked for someone would not apply to another person.
Structure One advantage of ticking boxes is that it gives us structure. When there are many things that need to be done, a procedure, a form or a checklist can give people direction. It can tell us what needs to happen and what comes next. For instance, in a large organisation with thousands of people trying to provide a service, without some form of structure, things could easily become confusing. A box can make sure that an important step hasn't been forgotten. Similarly, it can give people a sense of progress. We complete one task, move to the next and know what has been achieved. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the box itself; it is exactly what keeps things organised. Accountability Another advantage is that a box can create accountability. If something needs to be completed, there is a record showing whether it was done. This can be important, particularly when organisations are dealing with large numbers of people and complicated responsibilities. Without some form of liability, we could end up asking questions like: Who was supposed to do this? Was it done? Why wasn't it done? So, ticking a box can be useful. When the Box Becomes More Important Than the Person This is where tick-box culture can become a massive problem. A system can become so focused on whether something has been completed that it forgets to ask whether it has actually helped the person. The person becomes a case. The situation becomes a requirement. The problem becomes a process. And the human being can disappear somewhere in between. As a result, the human behind the tick-box will become the “system” - the “object” that doesn’t think. When on Universal Credit, we have to meet the work coach at times and the gov.uk website said this meeting can take place via video call, voice call or face-to-face appointments. But a job centre staff member refused to listen and said face-to-face is what they want, despite the person telling the staff the person has no travel money. They instead say to use the UC money to travel but the UC money is being used to pay rent & bills and nothing is left after that. What has happened here? The requirement has been communicated. The person has been told what they need to do. The box is ticked. But has the person behind the box actually been heard? If someone has no money left after paying rent and essential bills, telling them to use that same money to travel does not make the difficulty disappear – in fact it is utterly unreasonable. And this is where I think bureaucracy needs to be challenged. Following a procedure may be easy to record. Understanding an individual's circumstances requires something different. It requires a human being to stop, to listen and to use the brain to think. And perhaps to ask whether there is another way. Discourage curiosity The second problem is what happens when we become too comfortable with following the process. For example, when you apply for a job, the Human Resource department only takes 6 seconds to review your CV. They look for the keywords used in the job description or person specification and whether the person applying for the job ticks all the boxes HR have created. On the other hand, the person applying for the job naturally uses all the keywords and adds them to the CV to make their CV shine like a star and be perfect. Everything looks right on the paper/document. But a paper/document cannot tell us everything. It cannot tell for certain that the individual is able to perform everything written in the description or specification. Have workplaces become places where completing the task matters more than understanding the purpose? Why do we so often accept “that’s how we do things”? Do we actually stop and think, or do we simply react? It can make people lose their own judgement Do we give ourselves enough mental space to reflect before making decisions? Why can questioning something sometimes feel uncomfortable or even rebellious? Why are we influenced by what everyone else is doing simply because everyone else is doing it? If we’re repeatedly told what to do, we can gradually lose our own judgment. When something has become so normal, humans will start accepting it as it is and no one questions anything. As a result, humans may soon lose the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. All in All The problem was never the box. But when we rely on them too heavily, something can slowly change. We can stop looking beyond the box, stop questioning what we are doing and eventually stop using our own judgement - ultimately not giving our mind enough time to think like a human. Humans must never forget that we are born with a mind that can think, question and reason. In the same way, we are also born with a heart that can feel, understand and recognise when something doesn't feel right. And I really hope we do not lose this part of us in the long run, for our own sake. References 1. Thomann E. et al (2022); Interventions to reduce bureaucratic discrimination: a systematic review of empirical behavioural research; Public Management Review; 27(8): 1959-1986. 2. Sheard N (2025); Algorithm-facilitated discrimination: a socio-legal study of the use by employers of artificial intelligence hiring systems; Journal of Law and Society; 52(2): 269-291. 3. Tu J. et al (2026); Bureaucracy, happiness, and satisfaction at work; PLoS One; 21(1):e0338838.
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