“I’m perfectly fine,” is what my aunt replied when I told her I was a bit worried when I saw her face that matched someone who was mentally drained. “Thank you, but I am not quite feeling it,” is what she answered when I complimented her article that was due for a magazine. I understood at that moment that my aunt was one of those people who believed that every input they put in must come out perfect. She claims she’s just trying to get better. I think she’s a perfectionist.
A perfectionist is someone who needs to have everything done perfectly. They need their coffee every day exactly how they like it; they’ll go over the details a thousand times even if they miss the deadline, and other things they ensure perfectly for every little activity in their life. Think of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho or the bandleader Terrence Fletcher in Whiplash. Some call it their personality trait, while others think this is something they took for liking because they want to get better in life. But in every regard of judgment, under no circumstances being or trying to be perfect is wrong. While the concept of perfection is relative, being perfect or trying to bring perfection in every detail is a mindset that can quickly turn out to be problematic. And the same attitude in a corporate or professional workspace can cause a series of complicated issues.
When someone who wants to be perfect at work comes into a workplace or a professional corporate environment, things can become a bit hazy. For starters, being perfect requires extreme attention to detail. As a result, an individual needs to be full of energy every day. With so much mental and physical energy going into work itself, it gets tough to be perfect at every single thing. As a result, the quality of work degrades, and you end up having a bad day at the office. Furthermore, corporate culture timing has us working around the clock so much that it’s very tough to have proper rest from time to time. Hence, people who put too much energy into making things perfect end up having more unexpected burnouts or low levels of work ethic than regular people. Trying to be excellent and perfect at work also makes people controlling and judgmental regarding self and team evaluation.
An average workplace consists of multiple entities working together. As a result, the team dynamic is essential for a smooth workflow. In nearly every sort of work, collaboration is critical. Unless an individual is a freelancer, every workplace has a designated team for a specific task. In such cases, the ability to work in a team is an essential skill to have. A perfectionist, in this scenario, is a double-edged sword. While being perfect has some perks, it also has some downsides, especially when working with others. Perfectionism will demand perfection from the other members of the team. This can cause team synergy to fall off and result in low productivity levels. Everyone has their own work style, but a perfect team member can push their beliefs onto others, leading to potential conflicts within the team.
Perfectionism is also a red flag when it comes to qualities in the present context. In today’s tech-oriented world, MVPs and the timing of their release are crucial in launching projects and companies. A ‘Minimum Viable Product’ (MVP) is a prototype released early and in its basic form to customers so that the team in charge can have proper feedback on it. The idea behind it is to quickly get the customers’ review on the product and fix it accordingly. The mindset of being perfect clashes with MVPs and its concurrent working culture because people instead get feedback and work with it instead of constantly looking over minute details. That’s why a person with a perfect work ethic mentality is likely to be overlooked or passed on for someone who’s more into consistency.
Even though most of us oversaturate the term ‘perfect’ when it comes to job interviews or applying anywhere, the people hiring aren’t necessarily looking for perfectionism. For instance, being consistent and punctual are very remarkable traits reflecting your interest in the project. People in positions of power also are turning away from perfectionism because they understand the essence of mental health and the reality of what one should expect from someone.
Being perfect at work is detrimental to both the team and the individual. The reason people think you should be perfect at work originates from the narrative that this is the only way to gain the attention of your boss or your co-workers. While perfection at work ensures occasional good productivity, other proven lifestyles guarantee a much healthier and more productive ambiance.
If you’re down and questioning yourself about not being good enough or not being perfect, understand that people have rough patches. Bad days happen, and we should learn to maneuver around them. But that doesn’t mean we shift gears and take in something like perfectionism, which can worsen things. Always remember everything will turn out just fine if the effort is consistent.
Author- Malik Araf
