Differential Effects of Multidimensional Perfectionism on Burnout and Loneliness Among Delhi NCR Corporate Employees: A Path Analysis

Perfectionism can be a double-edged sword: while striving for excellence may drive performance, certain perfectionistic tendencies can erode employees’ resources and well-being. Guided by Conservation of Resources Theory, this study explored how rigid, self-critical, and narcissistic perfectionism relate to burnout and workplace loneliness among 875 full-time corporate employees (ages 21–40) in India’s Delhi National Capital Region. Participants completed the Big Three Perfectionism Scale–Short Form, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale-6 in a masked, cross-sectional design. Path analyses in AMOS 26.0 revealed that self-critical perfectionism was the strongest predictor of overall burnout (β = .595, p