“Too resilient and perfect for your own good?” : the role of perfectionism and resilience in job burnout

Abstract

Burnout has been a recognized topic for many years, although prevalence rates are hard to estimate. There are indications that burnout might be on the rise. Burnout has been extensively researched in the context of workplaces, but researchers have noted the value of looking at how burnout relates to personality traits. The purpose of this study is to investigate how personal traits like resilience and perfectionism affect burnout. Method: The measurement scales BAT, APSR and CD-RISC were submitted to 402 employees within the Icelandic labor market. The data was analyzed using correlation analysis, linear regression analysis and mediation analysis to further assess the relationship of these three constructs. Results: The results showed that maladaptive perfectionism predicted higher burnout scores, and resilience predicted lower burnout scores. Mediation analysis showed that maladaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between resilience and burnout. Conclusion: Our results indicate that maladaptive perfectionism is a high-risk factor for burnout. Furthermore, maladaptive perfectionism reduces the protective factor of resilience against burnout. This study aimed to increase the understanding of the interplay between resilience and perfectionism and its effect on burnout.