What is the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work?

Being a perfectionist at work to some extent does not have to be a negative, since being a bit perfectionists we tend to seek to perform our tasks in the best possible way, seeking the efficiency. The problem comes when that perfectionism exceeds certain limits and we begin to worry about unimportant details that will make us spend more time than necessary.

The relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work has been reflected in various aspects within this very important for people's lives, such as through the fear of failing in a work project, constant self-criticism, comparisons with other co-workers and even more prone to developing burnout syndrome at work, among others.

In this article we will talk about the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work and what are the repercussions it would have on the lives of people who are excessively perfectionist in their work.

This is how perfectionism and anxiety are related in the workplace

There are recent studies that have considered that excessive perfectionism, called dysfunctional perfectionism or also clinical perfectionism, is a transdiagnostic process. This personality variable is characterized by the need that it causes in the person to have to make an effort constantly strive to achieve fairly high standards in terms of performance and all the tasks that makes; which can cause various problems at different levels (p. g., at the level of health, family reconciliation, work, etc.).

At the same time, it is common for a perfectionist person to also be excessively critical of what he does, so you tend to worry about all the nuances of any task you perform, even though the consequences of paying attention to all the details and having too high standards are negative. In addition, it is usually the perfectionist people themselves who impose these high demands on themselves and it is difficult to lower the bar, allowing oneself to slow down the pace of work or the fact of not taking care of all the details.

Various investigations carried out with highly perfectionist people have found a high correlation between perfectionism and anxiety at work, as well as in other areas of their life. Among the anxiety-related disorders that have been found to have the highest correlation with dysfunctional perfectionism and anxiety are obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder and has also been found to be correlated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

As we will see below, having a very high degree of perfectionism, contrary to what it might seem, it will not make us the best at our job, at least in the long term, since in the long run it will cause us a high number of symptoms of anxiety, stress and even low self-actualization, which could lead to serious repercussions at the health level mental.

Therefore, it is more convenient that we seek to be more efficient in our work than perfectionists, opting to complete our tasks successfully, but within margins that are reasonable in terms of workload and care in the details.

• Related article: "Dysfunctional Perfectionism: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment"

Repercussions of perfectionism at the work level

There is research regarding the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work that shows that being Excessively perfectionist could bring with it a series of negative consequences at the work level such as those that we will explain to continuation.

1. Fear that projects will not go as expected and difficulties to finish them

Within the existing relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work, we can see that the Highly perfectionist people tend to suffer from a number of anxiety-related symptoms. due to the fear that their projects will not turn out the way they expectOne of the main causes being the high bar to which they tend to aspire.

In this sense, it is also frequent that certain difficulties are experienced to conclude each work project because they always find some nuance that needs to be corrected, so they are never fully satisfied with the final result, which could cause even more anxiety. For this reason, they often work more hours than necessary to complete tasks that they could have done in less time.

It would be more advisable to seek efficiency than perfection and try to have all our tasks at 80% of our possibilities than wasting too much time on unimportant details when polishing and improving a task 100% neglecting the rest, so that we need more time than necessary to complete them all.

2. Fear of not being up to self-demanded standards

The relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work could also be due to the fear that excessively perfectionist people have of not achieve remarkably high results that they usually demand of themselves in everything that concerns their work performance and also that of those around them around.

It is common for people with dysfunctional perfectionism at work tend to experience fear of failureTherefore, they sometimes see each challenge as a possible opportunity to fail instead of a challenge to do well and be satisfied with the effort expended.

It is also frequent that they have fulfilled the expectations that their peers and/or bosses had regarding the work that these people had to perform but, being such perfectionists, they think that they have not been up to the task.

• Related article: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

3. Self-critical constants

Constant self-criticism would be another of the characteristics that demonstrate the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work; and it is that people who are very perfectionists always find fault in everything they do, being very hard on themselves.

On many occasions, this dynamic could trigger these people to feel concerned about some detail of their performance at work that has not turned out as expected, so they they will tend to feel frustrated rather than satisfied that they have done a great job globally.

4. Comparisons and conflicts with co-workers

People who are very perfectionists may also have a tendency to compare themselves with their co-workers and pay particular attention to those who they consider that they perform better in their work, although this could be totally subjective, generating frustration and insecurities and fear of not being what good enough at their job, which is framed within the characteristics that demonstrate the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety in the job.

5. Low tolerance for uncertainty

Another of the most important aspects of perfectionists that demonstrates the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety in the work is the intolerance to the uncertainty that generates in them not being able to predict the results of their tasks and projects in their position work, so they tend to feel certain fears in the form of negative thoughts related to failure because they will not go well those projects.

On the other hand, this low tolerance for uncertainty and negative thoughts about possible results that are not going to turn out as expected may be related to the need to have everything under control to meet those high standards that they set for themselves in all their tasks, which causes them a lot of anxiety.

• You may be interested in: "Fear of uncertainty: 8 keys to overcome it"

6. Burnout syndrome

He Burnout syndrome or “burnout worker syndrome”, is characterized by an extreme physical and mental decay, and also by the fact of having a feeling of dissatisfaction with the functions performed at work; There may also be a feeling of depersonalization, which is characterized by a feeling of being distanced from other co-workers.

A highly perfectionist person who always wants to obtain excellent results, having If you put in too much effort, you may end up reaching your limit and developing a syndrome of burnout.

7. Too rigid behavior

People who are more perfectionists than necessary tend to be very strict in their job, so they end up having a behavior that is too rigid, so they do not allow themselves to be flexible in the performance of their tasks, so they leave no room for creativity, although this could be very useful in order to improve or innovate in your projects and that their results are more positive.

This rigid behavior can cause them serious difficulties when something unforeseen arises, such as a change of guidelines in the project in which your company is embarked, so it will be difficult for them to adapt to these changes and they could feel anxiety. From what we can see, rigid behavior is another characteristic that demonstrates the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety at work.