Research: When Extra Effort Makes You Worse at Your Job
23 Jul 2025
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Trying to improve how you work can boost progress—but research shows it also drains mental energy. Here’s how to manage that cost.

Read the full article here: https://s.hbr.org/4m8J2gx

Research: When Extra Effort Makes You Worse at Your Job 23 Jul 2025 --- Trying to improve how you work can boost progress—but research shows it also drains mental energy. Here’s how to manage that cost. Read the full article here: https://s.hbr.org/4m8J2gx

Research: When Extra Effort Makes You Worse at Your Job

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At Harvard Business Review, we believe in management. If the world’s organizations and institutions were run more effectively, if our leaders made better decisions, if people worked more productively, we believe that all of us — employees, bosses, customers, our families, and the people our businesses affect — would be better off. We try to arm our readers with ideas that help them become smarter, more creative, and more courageous in their work. We encourage comments, critiques, and questions. We expect our community to be a safe space for respectful, constructive, and thought-provoking discussion. We reserve the right to remove or turn off comments at our discretion. We do not tolerate bullying, name-calling, or abusive language related to identity, including race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, age, or region; spam; copyright violation; extreme profanity; or p*rnography.

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Research: When Extra Effort Makes You Worse at Your Job

Research: When Extra Effort Makes You Worse at Your Job