The Labour Illusion

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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: 26/09/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

You could build anticipation during onboarding by showing a series of loading labels that sound personalised, so the Labour Illusion makes set-up feel tailored.

Minimalist UI screen shows "Personalizing your feeds" with checklist: two green checked items "Gathering tailored ideas" and "Creating journey," one empty "Setting up recommendations."

Example from

Deepstash

Try showing a live count of emails processed during set-up, so the Labour Illusion makes the work happening behind the scenes feel tangible to new users.

Superhuman email UI shows tab unread count increasing from 182+ to 188+; survey titled "Let's talk about email" with four radio options on email dislikes.

Example from

Superhuman

You could experiment with adding a short, intentional pause in onboarding to show testimonials, using the Labour Illusion as cover while the plan appears to build.

Purple heart progress bar at 53%, headline "Millions of users have chosen Me+" with user reviews and star ratings below, pastel purple background, diverse illustrated users at bottom.

Example from

Me+

When asking for a review, you could remind users how long the order took and how much they spent, using the Labour Illusion to frame the value they received.

Clean review UI on yellow background shows Homer icon, question "rate value of delivery?" with "5 days" and "111.06 GBP" underlined in red, plus 5 grey star ratings from Poor to Exceptional.

Example from

Fiverr

As users complete a preference form, you could update matching results in the background with each answer, making the Labour Illusion visible as they go.

Nike shoe selection UI with question "What surface will you run on?" Two buttons: white "Road or Treadmill" and black "Trail," toggled between screens for active surface choice.

Example from

Nike

Possible impacts

Through the Labour Illusion, personalised loading steps might make users feel more is being done for them, which could lead to higher sign-up conversion rates.

As seen in:

Superhuman Magic is happening behind the scenes

Me+Testimonial exposure

By exposing the work behind a result, the Labour Illusion may help users attach more value to it, even when the output itself hasn't changed.

As seen in:

Deepstash Creating onboarding anticipation

Me+Testimonial exposure

When users believe real effort went into their plan, the Labour Illusion may make it feel worth paying for, which could lead to an increase in purchases.

As seen in:

Me+Testimonial exposure

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 01/09/2023

How to utilise this in your designs

You could build anticipation during onboarding by showing a series of loading labels that sound personalised, so the Labour Illusion makes set-up feel tailored.

Example from

Deepstash

Try showing a live count of emails processed during set-up, so the Labour Illusion makes the work happening behind the scenes feel tangible to new users.

Example from

Superhuman

You could experiment with adding a short, intentional pause in onboarding to show testimonials, using the Labour Illusion as cover while the plan appears to build.

Example from

Me+

When asking for a review, you could remind users how long the order took and how much they spent, using the Labour Illusion to frame the value they received.

Example from

Fiverr

As users complete a preference form, you could update matching results in the background with each answer, making the Labour Illusion visible as they go.

Example from

Nike

Possible impacts

Through the Labour Illusion, personalised loading steps might make users feel more is being done for them, which could lead to higher sign-up conversion rates.

As seen in:

Superhuman Magic is happening behind the scenes

Me+Testimonial exposure

By exposing the work behind a result, the Labour Illusion may help users attach more value to it, even when the output itself hasn't changed.

As seen in:

Deepstash Creating onboarding anticipation

Me+Testimonial exposure

When users believe real effort went into their plan, the Labour Illusion may make it feel worth paying for, which could lead to an increase in purchases.

As seen in:

Me+Testimonial exposure