Dr. Robert Chandler: Unrelenting High Standards and its cost to Mental Health at Work

Many employees pride themselves on their unrelenting high standards. Synonyms include: ‘I expect the best from myself and others’, and ‘I set myself and others incredibly high standards’?

Indeed, having an unrelenting high standards MO is considered a badge of honor - and often brings with it great rewards in terms of reputation, promotions and material reward.?

There is a darker side, too.?

1, It’s exhausting - delivering to an unrelenting high standard requires continuous energy, time and motivation, which can detract from other areas in life (relationships, self-care etc.)

2. Perfection is rarely possible - if not achieved, perfection can leave the individual feeling despondent, even if the quality remains high or ‘good enough’. Anything less than perfect can be seen as a total failure.?

3. It is correlated with mental health conditions - unrelenting high standards, or perfectionism, is highly correlated and often a driving factor in clinically significant anxiety, depression or burnout.?

4. It can alienate and drive disconnection with others - if the same standards are applied to others, this can leave team members feeling incompetent, dejected or simply not good enough. Certainly not the hallmarks of a well functioning team.?

Moving from unrelenting high standards to, just, high standards

1. Change your mindset (a little!). People often have the fear that a small change in standards little will open the floodgates to mediocrity and failure. Identify situations, tasks or events where you can afford to give a little more leeway, either to yourself or others.
2. Change your behaviour (a little!). Learn to identify when a project, presentation or report is ‘good enough’ to send. And send it. Start small, with less important items, and note that the floodgates to mediocrity do not open.?
3. Often, unrelenting high standards are embedded in our way of being from experiences earlier in life. To truly shift,, the help of a psychologist specializing in workplace wellbeing might well be required.?