n other words, if you have meltdowns over the thought of not finishing an assignment to your standards, that’s a sign you could be a failure-avoiding perfectionist. And that’s a problem.

Steed’s study found that burnout, stress and anxiety were more strongly related to failure-avoiding perfectionism, while excellence-seeking perfectionism was more tied to benefits like motivation and engagement.

Overall, being a perfectionist did not improve job performance, regardless of which type a person was.

Garcia said a sign that your perfectionism is doing more harm than good is when it doesn’t allow you to get anything done.

When you become notorious on your team for missing deadlines, you may gain an unflattering work reputation for being unreliable. Once that perception sticks, you will find it hard to advance in your career.

Garcia finds that perfectionism can not only lead to burnout but also frustration from your boss and co-workers and ongoing stress that carries over from work to your home life.

Neo said another sign that your perfectionism is becoming harmful is when you cannot truly listen or engage with colleagues or loved ones because you are too worried about upholding a perfect self-image.

Psychologists have found that, along with perfectionists who set unrealistic standards for themselves, there are “socially prescribed ” perfectionists that feel like impossible standards are being forced upon them by society or the people around them. Socially prescribed perfectionism has been associated with depression and other mental health conditions.

If you are wondering whether your perfectionism is helping or hurting your career, Neo said, ask yourself: “Is it making your life shrink? Is it making you unhappy, anxious, basically a shadow of who you are? [Do you feel like] there is a growing chasm between the person you are presenting on the outside, but inside you are feeling like things are going to crumble at any time?”

If any of your answers are yes, perfectionism is no longer serving you, and you should consider redefining your standards to “good enough ,” she said.