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The relentless pursuit of perfectionism: A review of perfectionism in the workplace and an agenda for future research
Author(s) -
Ocampo Anna Carmella G.,
Wang Lu,
Kiazad Kohyar,
Restubog Simon Lloyd D.,
Ashkanasy Neal M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/job.2400
Subject(s) - perfectionism (psychology) , extant taxon , psychology , empirical research , work (physics) , social psychology , epistemology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , evolutionary biology , engineering , biology
Summary The pursuit of perfectionism resonates with many individuals across workplaces resulting in a recent flurry of research on the topic. Although extant research has examined the costs and benefits of perfectionism at work, these efforts are scattered across multiple disciplines and utilize varying conceptualizations. As a result, we lack a coherent understanding of how perfectionism influences work behavior. To address this issue, we integrate the nascent but fragmented perfectionism at work literature, including both empirical findings and theoretical perspectives. We introduce and discuss a future research agenda that addresses not only the need to broaden understanding of perfectionism's antecedents, processes, and boundary conditions but also its multilevel applications and methodological limitations. Our review will enable organizational scholars to develop a deeper understanding of how perfectionism renders its influence in the workplace.