Job security, perfectionism, and work task performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic produced massive workforce disruptions and threatened job security across the globe. The current study was prompted by this unprecedented situation, combined with our limited understanding of the relationship between job security, personal characteristics, and work-related factors. The study was designed to (a) examine the association between job security and work task performance, and through person-centered or variable-centered approaches (b) evaluate the direct and moderating effects of perfectionism on job security and work performance. Results were based on a final sample of 485 employees from 12 financial organizations in Northern China who completed a web-based questionnaire early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings revealed job security was positively associated with work task performance. Job security was also positively related to perfectionistic strivings and negatively associated with perfectionistic concerns; that negative relationship was stronger when perfectionistic strivings were low, suggesting that high strivings may serve as a buffer to self-critical perfectionism influencing job security There was no support for interaction effects involving perfectionism and job security predicting task performance, but strong conditional effects emerged. Workers with high job security, high perfectionistic strivings, and low perfectionistic concerns reported the highest levels of work performance during the pandemic. A risk profile of lower performance emerged for workers with low perfectionistic strivings and high perfectionistic concerns. Findings suggest workplaces that thrive, even during major stressful disruptions, are likely those that can maintain or enhance job security by encouraging high performance expectations and discouraging the stress-generating effects of self-critical perfectionistic concerns among their workers.