Employees who frequently experience imposter syndrome may actually perform better when facing high workloads, according to new research from MIT Sloan School of Management.
The study challenges the widespread view that workplace imposter thoughts — the belief that others overestimate one’s abilities — are purely detrimental to employees and need to be overcome.
Assistant Professor Basima Tewfik found that when employees face too much work in too little time, those with more frequent imposter thoughts respond by working harder and performing better than their peers with less frequent imposter thoughts.
“If you’re someone experiencing workplace imposter thoughts, there’s this narrative that having those thoughts is only going to be bad for you,” said Tewfik. “But they could actually be your superpower. In moments when you are overwhelmed, they could be the reason you get through it.”
Field study tracks performance over 10 weeks
Tewfik examined how role overload — the perception of having too much to do in too little time — interacts with imposter thoughts. She conducted a field study with 169 employees at a firm that handles outsourced legal services in India.
Supervisors provided baseline performance ratings for employees. Six weeks later, employees completed surveys about role overload and workplace imposter thoughts. Ten weeks after the initial ratings, supervisors again rated employee performance.
Employees who reported more frequent imposter thoughts put in extra effort when faced with mounting work tasks and received higher performance ratings from their supervisors.
“These employees see the work as a challenge, not as a hindrance,” said Tewfik. “Impostor thoughts could be the secret ingredient in situations where it might seem that you’re set up to fail.”
Lab experiment shows 13% effort increase
Tewfik then conducted a lab experiment with several hundred undergraduates. Half of the students received messages designed to trigger imposter thoughts, while the rest received neutral notes.
Participants completed a number-transcription task. Some were told they faced high workloads with additional tasks to complete, while others were told they had lighter workloads.
In the high role overload condition, students with more frequent imposter thoughts exerted 13.21 per cent more effort than their peers with less frequent imposter thoughts. The extra effort did not significantly increase stress levels, and satisfaction rose rather than declined.
When the workload was light, students with more frequent imposter thoughts put in 13.43 per cent less effort than their peers. Imposter thoughts dampened effort when role overload was low but amplified it when role overload was high.
Implications for changing workplaces
The pace of change in today’s workplace is increasingly rapid, with constant technological shifts, more multitasking and higher productivity expectations from supervisors, according to Tewfik.
“Work is definitely becoming more chaotic,” she said. “The amount of change we’re seeing is even greater than what we were experiencing ten years ago.”
Tewfik said employees and employers should recognize that believing others overestimate their abilities can sometimes lead people to rise to the challenge. Having imposter thoughts isn’t always a weakness to suppress.
“In this world of intense, fast-paced demands and workloads, it may be to your advantage to have impostor thoughts,” she said. “They’re going to make you step up and perform.”
The research expands on Tewfik’s prior work examining incorrect assumptions about imposter syndrome and its implications for workplace success.
