The perfect colleague? Multidimensional perfectionism and indicators of social disconnection in the workplace

Abstract

How are perfectionist employees seen by their colleagues, and to what extent do they experience integration or social disconnection at work? Combining two different quantitative approaches, we investigated the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and indicators of social disconnection in two samples of employees from Germany. Study 1 (N = 184) measured the participants' perfectionism and presented four vignettes describing a self-oriented, other-oriented, socially prescribed, and non-perfectionist colleague. Participants rated the social skills and work competence of the described colleagues, and indicated their own willingness to work with them (interpersonal attraction). Study 2 (N = 279) measured the participants' perfectionism and the social support, social exclusion, and intergroup conflicts they experienced in their working teams. All perfectionists, especially the other-oriented perfectionist, received significantly lower ratings on social skills and attraction than the non-perfectionist colleague. However, the self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionist received the highest competence ratings. Ratings differed depending on the participants' own perfectionism. In Study 2, socially prescribed perfectionism was positively related to all indicators of social disconnection, whereas other-oriented perfectionism was related to conflicts only. Self-oriented perfectionism was unrelated to indicators of social disconnection. The results emphasize the importance of considering perfectionism in the context of teamwork and team climate.