ABSTRACT
We argue that effective management of burnout needs a wider focus than adopting de-stressing strategies alone: personality styles and views of the world are significant contributors to vulnerability. Few researchers have looked at the ‘perfectionistic’ personality style, yet it is a major risk factor for burnout. The Sydney studies identified a ‘work-focused’ factor in those with burnout: people who were reliable, conscientious, hardworking, focused on achieving set goals and always trying to do their best. But further along the spectrum, strong perfectionistic traits can gum up capacity, and at the extremes, perfectionism may paralyse an individual: being mired in detail, procrastinating, critical of themselves and others, they become rigid, fearing failure and perceived ‘exposure’. Some occupations, especially medicine and the law, generate high rates of burnout because they demand a level of perfectionism, and attract such people. In contrast, those low on perfectionism are unlikely to burn out; and a ‘sociopath’ or a ‘psychopath’ seems fully protected! Perfectionistic extremes must be modulated before resolution of burnout is possible, though it can be challenging as such tendencies are underpinned by a set of cognitive ‘schemas’ or deeply rooted beliefs. The individual must believe in the need for change and definitely benefits from a skilled counsellor or psychologist.
