FILE: ARCH-LIB-017 / STATUS: PUBLISHED
THE RESEARCH LIBRARY / THE STACKS
Perfectionism at work did not clearly mean better work
Read what the review found about perfectionism and job performance. Then notice where you stall before you finish.
A review found no clear link, either way, between perfectionism and how well people do their jobs.
THE SOURCE
Harari, Swider, Steed and Breidenthal (2018). Is perfect good? A meta-analysis of perfectionism in the workplace.. Journal of Applied Psychology.
We read the abstract. Open the paper
HOW STRONG THE EVIDENCE IS
MIXED. A meta-analysis, which pools many studies. Its answer on job performance was unclear in either direction.
“but an equivocal overall relationship with job performance”
High standards feel like the whole point. This review asked whether they make the work better.
The Research Library reads one paper at a time and says what it found in plain words. For this note we read the abstract, not the full paper.
What the research found
The authors pooled research on perfectionism at work. They looked at what comes before it and what follows from it.
Perfectionism has more than one side, and it brings both benefits and costs. It had sizable, steady links with several things that matter at work.
But its overall link with job performance was unclear. It did not come out clearly good or clearly bad.
How strong the evidence is
A meta-analysis pools many studies, which makes it one of the stronger kinds of evidence.
We grade it mixed because the key answer here was mixed. The abstract does not give the number of studies or people.
What it means for catching a pattern
The Perfectionism Trap is the pattern of not finishing what is not perfect. You may believe the high bar is what makes your work good.
This review did not find a clear link to better performance. That makes the belief worth checking, not obeying.
Catch the moment the bar rises. Catch means you feel the body signal and name the pattern before it becomes the behavior.
The body signal is what you feel in your body as the pattern starts. It might be a tight chest just before you send the work.
What it does not show
This review did not test The Archivist Method. It studied perfectionism as a trait at work, not a pattern you can catch.
It does not say high standards are bad. It says they did not clearly add up to better performance.
The free Crash Course, short lessons on your pattern, starts by naming it.
HOW TO CITE THIS PAGE
The Archivist Method (2026). Perfectionism at work did not clearly mean better work. The Research Library. https://thearchivistmethod.com/research/perfectionism-at-work