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The Labour Illusion

People have a tendency to perceive products and services more favourably when they're aware of the effort that was put in to create it.

Featured in 17 UX Bites

Similar psychology:

Hyperbolic Discounting

Likely impacts:

Last updated: 03/11/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

As someone completes a product-finder form, you could visibly update the matching options with each answer, so the effort feels tied to what they've just told you.

Shoe finder quiz form. For "What surface will you run on?", selecting "Trail" fills the background with trail shoes; switching to "Road or Treadmill" changes them to road running shoes, previewing results matching the answer.

Example from

Nike

During set-up, try showing a live count of how much your product has processed for them, so the work behind the scenes is visible rather than silent.

Onboarding. The browser tab's unread count rises from "Important (182+)" to "Important (188+)" while the user answers "What do you dislike most about email?", showing new emails piling up during setup.

Example from

Superhuman

While an AI result is being generated, consider filling the preview with the real output as it's written, so people watch the labour go in rather than wait on a spinner.

AI chat. A generated story appears as a "Document" card in the reply, with a tilted thumbnail preview showing the document's actual opening text, title and chapter heading, so its content is visible before opening it.

Example from

Claude

Once someone finishes onboarding, one option is to show a series of loading labels describing what's being personalised, so the result feels built around their answers.

Onboarding. A "Personalizing your feeds" loading screen ticks off setup steps one by one: two are checked as done, while "Setting up your recommendations." is still in progress, making the wait feel tailored.

Example from

Deepstash

When people have to wait on something technical, e.g., a router restart, it may help to explain each step as it happens, so the visible labour makes the wait feel easier.

Broadband loading screen. A progress bar shows a WiFi channel check, with text explaining it's looking for a channel neighbours aren't using and the benefit: "This can boost your speeds."

Example from

Possible impacts

Showing visible effort during sign-up or set-up, e.g., personalisation steps, could make the result feel tailored, and may lead to more people completing and converting.

As seen in:

Nike Dynamic hero images

Superhuman Magic is happening behind the scenes

Through the Labour Illusion, showing the work behind a result could lead customers to value it more highly, as visible effort often stands in for quality.

As seen in:

Nike Dynamic hero images

Deepstash Creating onboarding anticipation

When recommendations visibly change with each answer, customers may trust them as tailored to their needs, which could increase purchases of suggested products.

As seen in:

Deliveroo Larger store available

AllTrails Try it once

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 01/09/2023

How to utilise this in your designs

As someone completes a product-finder form, you could visibly update the matching options with each answer, so the effort feels tied to what they've just told you.

Example from

Nike

During set-up, try showing a live count of how much your product has processed for them, so the work behind the scenes is visible rather than silent.

Example from

Superhuman

While an AI result is being generated, consider filling the preview with the real output as it's written, so people watch the labour go in rather than wait on a spinner.

Example from

Claude

Once someone finishes onboarding, one option is to show a series of loading labels describing what's being personalised, so the result feels built around their answers.

Example from

Deepstash

When people have to wait on something technical, e.g., a router restart, it may help to explain each step as it happens, so the visible labour makes the wait feel easier.

Example from

Possible impacts

Showing visible effort during sign-up or set-up, e.g., personalisation steps, could make the result feel tailored, and may lead to more people completing and converting.

As seen in:

Nike Dynamic hero images

Superhuman Magic is happening behind the scenes

Through the Labour Illusion, showing the work behind a result could lead customers to value it more highly, as visible effort often stands in for quality.

As seen in:

Nike Dynamic hero images

Deepstash Creating onboarding anticipation

When recommendations visibly change with each answer, customers may trust them as tailored to their needs, which could increase purchases of suggested products.

As seen in:

Deliveroo Larger store available

AllTrails Try it once