A new study by an MIT Sloan professor finds that employees who frequently experience impostor thoughts may work harder and perform better when facing high workloads.
In her most recent work, Tewfik found that when employees face too much work in too little time, those who more frequently experience impostor thoughts respond by working harder and performing better than their peers.
Cambridge, MA, Nov. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — From Reddit threads to the wellness pages of The New York Times, a single message has dominated the conversation around impostor syndrome: it’s a problem that needs to be fixed.
Long portrayed as a psychological hurdle that can drive anxiety and burnout, impostor syndrome, also known as workplace impostor thoughts, has always been something to overcome. However, in a new study, MIT Sloan School of Management Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies Basima Tewfik finds that in certain situations, there’s a bright side to having workplace impostor thoughts, defined as the belief that others overestimate one’s abilities. This research expands upon her prior work, in which she dissected the incorrect assumptions about imposter syndrome, with implications for workplace success.
In her most recent work, Tewfik found that when employees face too much work in too little time, those who more frequently experience impostor thoughts respond by working harder and performing better than their peers with less frequent impostor thoughts.
“If you’re someone experiencing workplace impostor thoughts, there’s this narrative that having those thoughts is only going to be bad for you,” Tewfik said. “But they could actually be your superpower. In moments when you are overwhelmed, they could be the reason you get through it. In other words, you might actually have the edge because of them.”
These findings clarify conflicting evidence around the impact of having too much work to do: some studies observe greater effort when workloads spike, while others find no effect or even reduced effort. To arrive at her findings, Tewfik examined how role overload — the perception of having too much to do in too little time — interacts with impostor thoughts.
She first ran a field study, asking supervisors at a firm that handles outsourced legal services in India to provide baseline performance ratings for 169 of their employees. Six weeks later, employees answered a survey about role overload and workplace impostor thoughts. Ten weeks later, supervisors again rated the employees’ performance. Tewfik found that employees who reported more frequent impostor thoughts put in extra effort when faced with mounting work tasks, and they subsequently received higher performance ratings from their supervisor.
“These employees see the work as a challenge, not as a hindrance,” Tewfik said. The added work offers them a chance to earn gains that ease the pressures of having too much to do. “Impostor thoughts could be the secret ingredient in situations where it might seem that you’re set up to fail,” she added.
Tewfik then ran a lab experiment with several hundred undergraduates. Students were told they’d be working with a partner seated at another computer behind a barrier, though no partner actually existed. After completing a difficult aptitude test, half of the students received a message from their non-existent partner about test results that was designed to trigger impostor thoughts; the rest got a more neutral note.
Participants then completed a number-transcription task, converting a series of numbers into text strings. Some were told they faced a high workload (300 strings) and would have additional tasks to complete in the same time period, while others were told they only had 50 strings to complete with no additional tasks. In reality, everyone had the same amount of work.
The results were striking: in the high role overload condition, students in the more frequent impostor thoughts condition exerted 13.21% more effort than their peers in the less frequent impostor thoughts condition. That is, rather than balking at the high role overload like their less frequent impostor thought peers, they were able to step up and shine. Additionally, Tewfik found that the extra effort the students exerted did not significantly increase their stress levels. In fact, their satisfaction rose with the added effort rather than declined.
“Maybe over time, you might feel burned out,” said Tewfik, “but it’s not clear that it would be because of your impostor thoughts. It could be that there’s just too much work.” When the workload was light, students in the more frequent impostor thoughts condition put in 13.43% less effort than their peers in the less frequent impostor thoughts condition. In other words, impostor thoughts dampened effort when role overload was low [but amplified it when role overload was high].
Reconsidering the sweeping beliefs around impostor thoughts is critical, Tewfik added, as the pace of change in today’s workplace is increasingly rapid, with constant technological shifts, more multitasking, and higher productivity expectations coming from supervisors. Employees and employers alike should realize that believing that others overestimate their abilities can sometimes lead people to rise to the challenge. Having impostor thoughts isn’t always a detriment or a weakness to suppress.
“Work is definitely becoming more chaotic,” Tewfik said. “The amount of change we’re seeing is even greater than what we were experiencing ten years ago. It’s irresponsible to continue to operate on blanket assumptions without recognizing that the workplace is changing. In this world of intense, fast-paced demands and workloads, it may be to your advantage to have impostor thoughts. They’re going to make you step up and perform.”
Attachment
- In her most recent work, Tewfik found that when employees face too much work in too little time, those who more frequently experience impostor thoughts respond by working harder and performing better than their peers.
CONTACT: Matthew Aliberti MIT Sloan School of Management 7815583436 malib@mit.edu
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