The mediating role of coping in the relationship between subtypes of perfectionism and job burnout: A test of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism with employees in China

•We examine the perfectionism, coping style and burnout in Chinese IT employees.•Different subtypes of perfectionism display different coping styles and burnout.•Adaptiveness of perfectionism subtypes: pure PSP > NP > MP and pure ECP.•Coping style mediates the predicting effect of perfectionism on burnout.•Problem-focused coping is a protective factor.

This study addressed the four hypotheses proposed in the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (Gaudreau, 2013) and investigated the relationship between perfectionism, coping style, and job burnout among IT employees in China. The Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (Li & Shi, 2003), Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (Slaney, Rice, Mobley, Trippi, & Ashby, 2001), and Problem-Focused Style of Coping (Heppner, Cook, Wright, & Johnson, 1995) scale were administered to 345 Chinese IT employees. Using cluster analysis, participants were categorized into four perfectionism groups, which were then analyzed with ANOVA and path analysis. Results indicated: (1) significant differences on coping and burnout were found between the pure Evaluative Concerns Perfectionism (ECP) and the Non-Perfectionism (NP) delineated in the 2 × 2 model; (2) when investigating the relationships between subtypes of perfectionism and job burnout, results supported the Hypothesis 1A, 2, and 4 proposed in Gaudreau (2013) but failed to corroborate its Hypothesis 3; and (3) controlling for the other two, each of the three coping styles partially or completely mediated the relationship between perfectionism and burnout.