LMX, Perfectionism and Social Disconnection

Abstract

This research examined the effect of two types of perfectionism on social disconnection at the workplace. The two types of perfectionism were self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism. The main goal of the research was to examine whether leader member exchange (LMX) operates as a mediator between perfectionism and social disconnection. To examine this, two mediation analysis were conducted on the data from 88 participants. Most of the participants were recruited from the company Univé Stad & Land (USL). The results showed significant direct effects for both types of perfectionism on social disconnection as well as a significant effect of LMX on social disconnection and a significant effect of socially prescribed perfectionism on LMX. Concerning the mediation, the results showed that LMX was only a significant mediator between socially prescribed perfectionism and social disconnection. The results indicate that LMX has an important effect on social disconnection in the workplace and that enhancing LMX with socially prescribed perfectionists could help them reducing their feelings of social disconnection at work. Limitations and directions for future research are further discussed.