Why being a perfectionist can backfire

All leaders want their work to reflect their capabilities in the best manner and rightly so - job satisfaction is positively associated with workplace financial performance, labour productivity, and the quality of output and service, according to research from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research for the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

But what if someone struggles to attain job satisfaction because they find anything short of flawless work is unacceptable and tantamount to failure?

We spoke to Dr Mark Winwood, Director of Psychological Services for AXA PPP healthcare, who said whilst perfectionists produce quality work, there is another side to their personality in which self-criticism and strong feelings of frustration and despair prevail.

Apparently, psychologists categorise perfectionists into two groups – adaptive and maladaptive.