It matters what kind of perfectionist someone is.Psychologists distinguish between a “self-oriented” version, in which people put pressure on themselves to perform flawlessly; an “other-oriented” type, in which people hold their colleagues to the highest of standards; and a “socially prescribed” version, in which employees think they will only get on if they meet the impossible expectations of those around them.People in the last camp seem to be especially prone to stress.A recent Italian study found that, whereas having extremely high standards for your own performance was not a predictor of burnout, being afraid of making mistakes was.Perfectionists may also hurt team cohesiveness.In a study conducted in 2020, Emily Kleszewski and Kathleen Otto of Philipps-University of Marburg asked people to rate potential co-workers based on descriptions of their levels and categories of perfectionism.Perfectionists were regarded as being less socially skilled and less likeable than non-perfectionists.You don’t have to like your colleagues for them to be effective: in that same study, perfectionists were rated as more competent than non-perfectionists.But when more and more work is organised around small groups working together, it can help not to loathe each other.
