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How the Labor Illusion Boosts Customer Satisfaction Through Visible Effort
Platforms like Google often show search results loading progressively or give an impression of “searching for the best results,”
The labor illusion is a psychological phenomenon that refers to how people perceive and appreciate visible effort or work put into a service, often increasing their satisfaction or perceived value of the experience — even if the extra effort doesn’t change the final outcome.
The concept is widely studied in psychology and customer experience, where research shows that when people see or believe effort is being invested in a service or product, they often feel that they are getting better value or more attentive service.
Understanding the Labor Illusion
The term “labor illusion” was introduced by Ryan W. Buell, Tami Kim, and Chia-Jung Tsay in a study where they observed how customers reacted to visible versus invisible efforts in services.
They found that customers often preferred a slightly longer wait time if they could observe some form of work being done on their behalf (like a progress bar or notification of activity), rather than a short wait without visibility into the process.
