Self-Critical Perfectionism, Daily Interpersonal Sensitivity, and Stress Generation: a Four-Year Longitudinal Study

The relentless pursuit of perfectionism: A review of perfectionism in the workplace and an agenda for future research

“…Conversely, researchers consistently find that perfectionistic concerns negatively influence well‐being (Hill & Curran, ). Perfectionistic concerns entail a persistent negative reaction to imperfections, thereby increasing fatigue (Childs & Stoeber, ; Flaxman et al, ), stress (Dunkley, Mandel, & Ma, ; Dunn, Whelton, & Sharpe, ; Mandel, Dunkley, & Starrs, ), and burnout (Hill & Curran, ). In addition, the qualitative study of Noordik, Nieuwenhuijsen, Varekamp, van der Klink, and van Dijk () found that employees who experience stress‐related anxiety or depression view their perfectionism as the primary characteristic that hampers their ability to successfully deal with demanding work situations (i.e., returning to work after their long‐term sick leave).…”

“…As such, they are likely to experience unsatisfactory relationships with their supervisors and coworkers (Fairlie & Flett, ; Monck, ). Perfectionistic concerns may orient individuals to interpret their social interactions as a form of failure, and, as a result, they respond to work relationships with avoidance (Dunkley, Mandel, & Ma, ), leading to interpersonal stress, withdrawal or avoidance from social interactions, and reduced perceptions of social support (Mandel et al, ; Monck, ).…”

“…For example, there is evidence that rumination about work mediates the influence of perfectionistic concerns on emotional exhaustion (Flaxman et al, ). Interpersonal sensitivity (Mandel et al, ) and detachment from work (Gluschkoff et al, ) have been found to mediate the impact of perfectionistic concerns on depressive symptoms and interpersonal stress. Findings also support the mediating effects of daily hassles, coping, and social support on perfectionistic concerns and psychological distress linkage (Dunn et al, ).…”

Psychometric Properties of the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory in Ecuador

“…In this sense, the link between PATs and social anxiety [ 18 ] and even with hostile behavior [ 11 ] is remarkable. Perfectionist self-criticism predicts daily sensitivity to interpersonal sadness, which is understood by the increase in sadness related to the increase, in turn, of a poor and negative social interaction [ 26 ].…”

“…However, these perfectionist ruminations are of great interest for scientific research because they reveal perfectionist cognitions depending on the personal situation of each individual [ 10 ], provoking great psychological distress in some cases [ 2 , 3 , 13 ]. If the model of social disconnection from which perfectionism originates [ 11 , 25 , 26 , 27 ] and the generation of negative emotions in the subject are considered in this situation, interpersonal difficulties and their mental state that hinder the link with society can be triggered. Hence, its evaluation is important.…”