Research - 01.04.2025 - 09:28
![[Translate to English:] Der Yes Yeti - eines der Monster aus dem Buch.](https://www.unisg.ch/fileadmin/_processed_/e/4/csm_01-The-yes-yeti_476842d0d0.png)
The Yes Yeti and the Time Trolls steal our efficiency and time, the Meeting Monsters make work in organisations tough and the Craving Kraken spreads toxic Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): with these and many other horror figures, the book “Office Monsters” aims to illustrate where time traps, self-sabotage and bureaucratic problems lie in the modern working world. It was written by HSG Professor Martin Eppler and HSG graduate Andri Hinnen. In the book, work stress, self-doubt and organisational problems become 25 monsters. With their 'Survival Guide to Corporate Madness' – to use the book's subtitle – Eppler and Hinnen want to show how to overcome them.
“We use the concept of reframing. This involves looking at a problem from a new perspective, in this case as a monster. This creates distance and thus opens up new solutions,” says Eppler, who specialises in simplifying and visualising complex phenomena. He adds that the effectiveness of reframing has been scientifically proven and is also used in therapy.
![[Translate to English:] Die Meeting Monsters.](https://www.unisg.ch/fileadmin/_processed_/d/a/csm_08-The-Meeting-Monsters_final_a6c4f0c719.png)
“Of course, the monster is a particularly rewarding ‘frame’ for making complex content tangible and approachable,” adds co-author Andri Hinnen. “The monsters in the book are personified, archetypal, physical and also funny – this is intended to take away the fear of confrontation.” After graduating from HSG, Hinnen founded the Zense agency, which advises and trains companies with visualisations, illustrations and gamification. The two authors met at HSG when Hinnen was a student in Eppler's creativity courses.
According to Eppler, the era in which we are almost permanently exposed to digital stimuli is giving birth to many powerful monsters. “The algorithms behind the apps on our smartphones are optimised to tempt us into consuming. We have to develop weapons against them to protect our creativity, productivity and mental health.” At the same time, the ongoing digitisation of processes is also increasing distractions in the workplace.
Office Monsters is designed as a handbook for everyday (working) life – you can also simply flick through it and look for the monsters that cause you the most trouble personally. Each monster is briefly described, with a comic-like illustration, examples of specific situations and a list of keywords. This is followed by a section on how to tame, banish or fight the monsters, supplemented with further reading. There is a special chapter for internal, external and organisational monsters. And there are also the 'Mighty Me Monsters', which represent positive qualities such as resilience, courage or goal pursuit.
Office Monsters is also the basis for a new course for HSG Bachelor students in the spring semester of 2025. “The concept can serve as a career guide, especially for young people and those just starting their careers,’ says Eppler. In the course titled 'Monsters at Work - A Metaphor-based Approach to Workplace and Career Challenges', students design their own monsters that represent their personal experiences, after an introduction to the basic idea.
The monsters are well received by students, as a course attendance shows. “We are a generation of digital natives. We know how social media can become a time trap or trigger FOMO,” says student Isabel Boggio. She will use some of the techniques to combat monsters during the learning phase to work more productively. “I appreciate the interactivity of the course, we discuss a lot and can contribute our own experiences,” adds Marvin Troschker. He says that the course has taught him to apply certain optimisation techniques even more consciously. “Since then, I've been making notes on how I use my time and also attempting to recognise certain monsters in behaviours.” And Yannick Sonderegger, a business administration student in his 4th semester, says: “At the beginning, I was surprised by the monsters, but now I find visualisation a very good technique for presenting problems.”
Eppler recently came across his book at London's Gatwick Airport, where it was listed as the “Book of the Month” in the business section. “Of course I was pleased by this discovery, and it shows that the book also attracts interest from experienced professionals.”
