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How the Overjustification Effect Kills Your Work Motivation
Description
Why do you suddenly hate a hobby the moment it becomes a side hustle? Or lose interest in a project once your boss starts dangling a bonus? Psychologists call it the overjustification effect, and it quietly shapes how we navigate office politics, take on assignments, and negotiate raises. In this episode, Lucas and Luna go beyond the textbook definition to look at how the effect plays out in real workplaces, from a software engineer whose passion project turned miserable after a promotion to a sales team that hit every target but lost its spark. They break down the research, swap stories, and offer a few practical countermeasures, including how to keep intrinsic motivation alive when external rewards are unavoidable. If you've ever wondered why a raise can feel emptier than you expected, or why your team's morale dipped right after a big bonus program, this one's for you.