Perfectionist Burnout

You might be a perfectionist if:

• You evaluate yourself based on your performance
• You’re not satisfied unless you excel at everything you do
• You procrastinate regularly for fear of being unable to complete a task perfectly
• You become obsessed with rules, lists, and work, or the opposite, you become extremely apathetic. Someone with perfectionistic tendencies often prefers order and neatness, shows more concern over mistakes (or possible mistakes) than others, is sensitive to criticism, and yet is often highly self-critical.Someone who is a perfectionist is more likely to suffer from perfectionist burnout because they are likely to overwork themselves, burning the candle at both ends, ensuring their work reaches their own unrealistically high standards.

Burnout is defined as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed (WHO, 2019), with symptoms such as energy depletion, physical and emotional exhaustion, feelings of cynicism about one’s job, increased mental distance from one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.

In this article, I am going to discuss how having perfectionist tendencies can lead to perfectionist burnout.

Perfectionism at work

Research shows that perfectionism can be toxic, especially in a work environment, and aiming for perfection contributes to mental health problems, psychological strain, burnout, and a reduction in engagement (Spagnoli et al., 2021). However, researchers (Harari et al., 2018) have found that higher levels of perfectionism meaningfully and consistently predict several beneficial workplace outcomes including:

• Being more motivated at work
• Being more engaged at work

However, the same research also indicated that perfectionistic tendencies predict detrimental workplace outcomes such as:

• Working longer hours
• Higher levels of burnout
• Higher levels of stress
• Workaholism
• High levels of depression and anxiety

Types of Perfectionism

There are many theories that have tried to explain the different types of perfectionism.

According to one group of researchers, there are two sub dimensions of perfectionism: excellence-seeking perfectionism and failure-avoiding perfectionism (Enns, Cox, and Clara, 2002).

While those with excellence-seeking perfectionism tend to fixate on and demand exceedingly high standards of work from themselves and others, those with failure-avoidance perfectionism are more concerned with not failing to reach those high standards. They constantly worry that their work isn’t good enough and believe that they will lose the respect of others if they do not achieve perfection.

While excellence-seeking perfectionism can be a healthy motivator, failure-avoiding perfectionism is an unhealthy form of motivation, which can quickly lead to workplace burnout and stress.

Another group of researchers (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) propose three dimensions of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism (the tendency to set unrealistically high standards for yourself); other-oriented perfectionism (this is the tendency to expect others to meet your very high, and unrealistic standards) and socially prescribed perfectionism (the belief that others have expectations of them that are difficult, if not impossible, to meet) and the belief that if these standards are not met, they will be met with criticism and disapproval.

The fear of making mistakes

Perfectionist burnout can be driven by the fear of making mistakes. For example, the following behaviours can be driven by failure-avoidance perfectionism:

• Excessively checking emails: i.e., for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, tone, and meaning.

• Over-preparing: spending excessive amounts of time preparing for a presentation, working on weekends and into the evenings as a means of striving for perfection.

• Not delegating tasks: due to the belief that no one else will complete the task to your satisfaction.

• Sacrificing sleep for work: telling yourself “I’ll stay up just a little bit longer to finish this” and the next thing you know it’s 3:00AM and you need to be up by 6.30AM to get to work.

• Procrastination: not wanting to start a task if it’s not going to be perfect, and then having to sacrifice sleep and non-work time to get it done at the last minute.

• Burning the candle at both ends: getting to work early and leaving late in an attempt to get work projects done to a high standard, either because you’ve been procrastinating, you’ve taken too much on, or you’re spending countless hours checking and re-checking your work.Making mistakes is the way that we learn, and attempting to avoid the pain of making an error often means that we automatically avoid chances for growth.

One of the most poignant mottos for someone who struggles with a fear of making mistakes is; “done is better than perfect”. A draft that is handed in, imperfectly but on time, allows for advancement of the project itself, as well as collaboration between colleagues and departments, as opposed to you sitting on your piece of work, procrastinating, and worrying about whether or not the draft is good enough.

It is very common for perfectionists to be overly critical of their work, and as such, they overestimate the likelihood that their manager will be critical too.

Fear of letting others down

Perfectionists often struggle with anxiety around the idea that they are inadequate or somehow defective or unlovable, and they are afraid that others already know this or that they will find out.

They are afraid of being criticised, embarrassed, rejected, or abandoned, and often feel that their only defence is to play it safe by being “perfect”.

This attempt at perfection can often manifest in a fear of letting others down, which can lead to working excessive hours, being unable or unwilling to say “no”, or not putting other important boundaries in place at work that would prevent you from burning out.

If you’re a perfectionist, you might feel like you need to be everything to everyone, and this can lead you to take on more work than you can handle.

The fear of being exposed as incompetent

The fear of being exposed as a fraud is surprisingly common and can lead to feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. Perfectionism and imposter syndrome often go hand-in-hand, with perfectionists setting excessively high goals and standards for themselves and then feeling like a fraud if they don’t measure up.

The fear of being exposed as incompetent can lead to behaviours such as spending hours checking and re-checking your work, spending an excessive amount of time on tasks and never being satisfied with your work, or procrastinating for a fear of not being able to complete the task to a high enough standard.

Those who experience imposter syndrome at work can end up working that much harder, burning the candle at both ends, in an attempt to prove themselves as competent and successful workers – in an attempt to prove that they deserve to be in the position they’re in.

One study in 2016 showed that US medical students who experienced imposter syndrome also tended to demonstrate increased levels of exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, cynicism and depersonalisation, which we now know are many of the symptoms of professional burnout (Villwock et al., 2016).