Excellence or perfection: Examining work performance mediated through employee engagement in India

Abstract

The model of excellencism and perfectionism (MEP) theorizes that the attitude toward goals as characterized in excellencism is desirable over perfectionism. Using the self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to investigate the varying effects of perfectionism and excellencism on work engagement and performance. The study used a time-lagged multi-phase, multi-source, and cross-sectional online survey to collect responses from 360 corporate employees of Indian companies in the services industry. The results indicate that while both perfectionism and excellencism entail pursuing high standards, they relate differently with performance and work engagement. Interestingly, excellencism and work engagement were significantly associated with performance (p < .001); however, perfectionism was insignificant (p = .989). Perfectionism strengthens work engagement (β = 0.112; p = .013), while excellencism has an insignificant effect (β = 0.035; p = .537). Work engagement fully mediates the perfectionism-performance relationship. This demonstrates that striving for excellence alone is sufficient to achieve positive performance, challenging the traditional belief that one must focus on perfection. Furthermore, perfectionism is positively associated with performance only when employees are engaged and have positive motivation toward work.