Perfectionism vs. OCD: A Fine Line in the Workplace
Meet my client Sarah, a project manager at a tech company. She prides herself on producing top-quality work and has always seen her perfectionism as a strength. But lately, she’s been caught in a pattern of endlessly rechecking emails and tweaking presentations—not to improve them, but out of fear she’s missed something important. What started as a commitment to excellence has spiraled into a need to prevent any possible mistake. For Sarah, this isn’t about raising her standards—it’s about avoiding the anxiety of making even the smallest error. She’ll re-read an email five times, feeling a brief sense of relief each time, only for the same fears to return:
Fear of Negative Judgments:
"What if I miss a small detail and my boss thinks I’m incompetent? What if this mistake ruins my professional reputation?"
Fear of Miscommunication:
"What if my email isn’t clear enough and someone misunderstands my instructions? What if this causes confusion or delays the project?"
Fear of Forgetting Important Details:
"What if I forgot to include something critical in the report and the entire project falls apart because of me?"
Fear of Losing Control:
"What if I let my guard down and something major goes wrong? What if missing this one thing causes everything to unravel?"
Fear of Responsibility:
"What if I make a mistake and it leads to a bigger issue, like a project failure or losing a client? What if I’m held responsible for everything going wrong?"
This compulsion to eliminate doubt, over and over, is how OCD takes hold. It creates an endless loop, where the short-term relief from checking reinforces the need to check again, never fully resolving the fear. As part of OCD Awareness Week, it’s important to shed light on how OCD affects high achievers like Sarah.
Unlike healthy perfectionism, which brings satisfaction when a standard is met, OCD fuels never-ending doubt and repetitive behaviors, preventing people from feeling good about their work, no matter how hard they try. The good news is, OCD is treatable. With Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, people like Sarah can learn to face their fears without giving in to compulsive checking. ERP teaches you to tolerate uncertainty, sit with the urge to check, and regain control of your time and mental energy.
If you feel trapped in this perfectionism-OCD cycle, therapy can help you break free and refocus on what really matters.
