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 < .001), which in turn predicted both disengagement (β = .574, p < .001) and emotional exhaustion (β = .461, p < .001). Narcissistic perfectionism showed more moderate links to burnout (β = .232, p < .001) but emerged as the primary driver of workplace loneliness (β = .125, p < .001). Rigid perfectionism had no significant effects. Contrary to expectation, burnout did not mediate the perfectionism–loneliness relationship (β = –.016, p = .282), suggesting that self-critical and narcissistic perfectionism deplete distinct resource pools, self-regulatory versus social, through separate pathways. The full model accounted for 54 percent of variance in burnout, 77 percent in disengagement, 65 percent in exhaustion, and 21 percent in loneliness. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing self-critical evaluations and tempering interpersonal perfectionistic demands, rather than targeting rigid standards, may yield the greatest benefits for employee health and social well-being.