We developed and tested the hypotheses that motive incongruence (i.e., incongruence between a person's implicit and explicit motives) would be associated with higher job burnout and that this relation would be mediated by lower intrinsic motivation. The results of an online study with 49 executives enrolled in an Executive MBA program confirmed the hypotheses. The findings are discussed with respect to the theoretical conceptualization of impaired intrinsic motivation as a consequence of motive incongruence. On the basis of our findings, interventions ought to be directed at helping people gain an improved understanding of their implicit motives rather than trusting their perceptions in identifying job stressors that need to be removed. •Incongruence of implicit and explicit motives correlates with increased job burnout.•Intrinsic motivation mediates the influence of motive discrepancies on job burnout.•Motive discrepancies correlate with less intrinsic motivation and higher job burnout.