I had the same "state machine" style workflow with something like 6 steps in it. Combined with the slow load times and clumsy interface, I once calculated that it would take me several hours just to move all of my assigned tickets at the time from state 0 to state 5. Fortunately I was able to switch to a workflow that made more sense.

I feel the two types of problems you mentioned form a feedback loop, each making the other more painful.