Help Employees Avoid The Four Main Types Of Negative Perfectionist Behavior

Today’s best managers know that employee perfectionist behavior can be positive or negative for organizations. Negative perfectionism results in employee behaviors that are compulsive and excessive and lower organizational performance. There are four main types of negative perfectionism: 1) compulsive behavior—repeats behaviors over and over because the performance doesn’t meet excessive standards set by the employee, 2) narcissistic behavior—attempts to reach impossible goals set by others and looks for constant positive feedback from others, 3) imposters—despite lots of evidence don’t believe that they caused their own success and continually have to prove themselves, and 4) neurotics—adopt impossible goals set by others and hold themselves accountable when they can’t reach the impossible goals.

Source: Leonard, N. H., & Harvey, M. 2008. Negative perfectionism: Examining negative excessive behavior in the workplace. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 585-610.