Mental Health among Millennials and Post-Millennials: The Role of Loneliness and Multi-Dimensional Perfectionism
Dr. Yasmeen Shamsi Rizvi
Assistant Professor (HRM and OB),
Centre for Management Studies,
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Aleena Ilyaz
Ph.D. Scholar,
Centre for Management Studies,
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Abstract
The changing profile of work such as part-time work, self-employment, temporary work, irregular hours, night shifts, over-qualification and zero-hour contracts, have exposed the millennials (Gen Y) and post-millennials (Gen Z) to risks of mental health problems. Depression and anxiety are becoming the major mental health conditions, resulting in high turnover, absenteeism, and poor performance. Besides the urge to engage in risk-taking behaviors, excessive use of social media, and financial burdens, loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism are two important causes of negative mental health. The paper aims to contribute towards the understanding of mental health among these two generations by studying the role of loneliness, and multi-dimensional perfectionism. Data was collected from 150 working professionals using GAD-7 anxiety and PHQ-9 depression questionnaire for measuring mental health; and UCLA Loneliness Scale- Short Version and Big Three Perfectionism Scale- Short Form (BTPS-SF) for measuring loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism, respectively.
Keywords: Mental health, Millennials, Post-Millennials, Loneliness, Multi-Dimensional Perfectionism
Pew Research Centre defines any individual born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) as a millennial or gen Y, and anyone born from 1997 onward is a part of the new generation and is called a post-millennial or gen Z (Akua2020). It is estimated that by 2026, India’s workforce in the age group of 15-64 years will represent 64.8 per cent of the total population, making India a young country (Raina2020). This younger generation is dealing with mental health issues at about three times the rate of the general population. Research shows that the amount of psychological distress between 2008 and 2017, increased the most for 18-25year-olds at 71 per cent, and 20-21year-olds at 78 per cent. Rising numbers among millennials and gen-Z regarding deteriorating mental health resulting from loneliness, depression, anxiety, and burnout have been reported; a 49 per cent rise in depression has been reported among millennials since 2014 (Miller2020). Recent research shows that millennials face major stress due to work and monetary factors leading to quitting their jobs. (Stieg 2019). Harvard Medical School defines depression as a severe and persistent low mood, profound sadness, and a sense of despair. Since 2013, there has been an increase from 3 per centto 4.4 per cent among 18-34year-olds, depression becoming one of the major mental health conditions (Business Insider 2019). Stress leading to panic attacks among millennials has been rising; 65 per cent of post-secondary students report overwhelming anxiety. One of the major reasons is lack of mental resilience, the highly stressful and competitive nature of work, no time to rejuvenate, no space for constructive criticism (Mcmaster, 2020). Tragic news carried faster by technology also results in stress among millennials and gen Z, lesser sleep, and a short attention span (Casey Foundation2021).Burnout has been identified as a medically legitimised syndrome among millennials due to rising workload, limited staff and resources, and long hours. Factors behind millennials becoming a burnout generation includes their upbringing, social media and economic environment (Business Insider2019).American Psychological Association reports that 12 per cent of millennials have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder; twice the percentage of boomers (Loeb 2021). The reason is that the younger generation has witnessed more tragedy including economic collapses and stigma, to be able to manage mental health without openly discussing it (Loeb2021). In the current context of forced shift to online learning due to COVID-19, the younger students face grave challenges while interacting with their teachers and peers causing feelings of isolation and loneliness (Rizvi and Nabi 2021).
The study comprises of the parts including research objectives, conceptual definitions of the study variables, background literature review, generation of hypotheses, and research methodology. After reporting the results of the statistical analysis, the overall and concluding remarks are provided and implications for the research area and management are driven.
In this section, the relevant literature review on the study variables and the conceptual background will be provided.
The current times witness an increase in mental health problems, which further results in disability around the world. Mental health has been identified to be fundamental by the World Health Organisation(2013). In this regard, specific attention has been given to studying depression, anxiety, and stress as they are considered to be significant factors resulting in mental health issues (Wainberg, et al.2017). Anxiety and depression are considered to be emotional responses that result in a variety of symptoms that includes disturbed sleeping patterns, tiredness, tension, irregular schedule, and heightened irritability (Tech, et al. 2015). Anxiety is characterized by a persistent and excessive amount of worry that prevails even when there are no stressors present; symptoms include difficulty in concentrating, irritation in doing activities, prolonged fatigue, insomnia, and others (American Psychological Association 2019). Depression is understood by various symptoms that include zero interest in day-to-day activities, alterations in sleep patterns, lack of concentration or energy, and having feelings questioning one’s existence (American Psychological Association2020). The current study focuses on measuring depression and anxiety as important indicators of mental health.
Loneliness has been defined as the “discrepancy between an individual’s preferred and actual social relations” (Peplau and Perlman, 1982). This discrepancy gives rise to negative emotions of feeling isolated even in a social setting or among family and friends (Cacioppo andCacioppo2013). Another definition (Dickens, et al.2011) describes loneliness as the individual’s perception ofa lack of closeness, affection, and social connection which leads to negative emotions. However, loneliness can also result in positive outcomes where individuals enjoy being alone to practice solitary mediation and mindful exercises for personal growth. It is also emphasized that social species, along with needing the presence of a social circle, also need the presence of significant others for surviving and prospering in life (Cacioppo andPatrick2008). Loneliness is a complex construct that has three dimensions/ facets including intimate loneliness, relational loneliness, and collective loneliness(Cacioppo, et al. 2015); as explained in Table 1.
Table 1: Dimensions of Loneliness (Cacioppo, et al.2015)
|
Dimension |
Definition |
|
Intimate Loneliness |
Emotional loneliness is where individuals lack significant others for emotional support and mutual assistance. |
|
Relational Loneliness |
Social loneliness is the perceived lack of quality social connections with friends and family that tend to form the sympathy group. |
|
Collective Loneliness |
The perceived absence of an active social network where individuals meet like-minded people and develop an outermost social layer. |
Perfectionism is understood as a multidimensional personality trait that is characterized by extremely high standards for oneself, overly critical evaluation of one’s and others’ performance, and the constant tendency to achieve flawlessness (Frost, et al. 1990). A recent model called the Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS) (Smith, et al.2016) conceptualized multidimensional perfectionism using three primary facets including rigid perfectionism, self-critical perfectionism, and narcissistic perfectionism as explained in Table 2.
Table 2: Dimensions of Multidimensional Perfectionism (Smith, et al. 2016)
|
Dimension |
Definition |
|
Rigid Perfectionism |
An individual’s tendency to demand a flawless performance from oneself. It includes self-oriented perfectionism: emphasizes constantly striving for perfection, and self-worth contingencies: relating one’s self-worth to personal standards of perfectionism. |
|
Self-critical perfectionism |
The Over-concern and negative response towards one’s mistakes/ failures, constantly dissatisfied from one’s work, overly critical towards the absence of perfectionism in oneself, believing that others demand only perfection from oneself. |
|
Narcissistic perfectionism |
An individual’s tendency for demanding perfection from other people. It is characterized by having unrealistic perfection expectations from others, an intolerable attitude towards others’ mistakes, having the feeling of entitlement that comes after being perfect, having a sense of superiority because of one’s perfection. |
The average level of loneliness increases with the age of the people, which makes loneliness more prevalent in the older population (Pinquart and Sorensen 2001). People tend to experience loneliness when they lack social contact or there is a discrepancy between the quality and quantity of their actual and desired social relationships. As people’s age increases, their social networks start shrinking as they tend to lose contact with old friends and partners(Pinquart and Sorensen 2001). Research highlights that there is an increasing percentage of an older generation who live alone which increases the risk of feeling lonely as it drastically reduces their social contacts (Courtin and Knapp 2017). A longitudinal study (Sonnega, et al. 2014) which studied loneliness across four generation cohorts including silent, baby boomers, generation X, and millennials found that the highest level of variability in loneliness occurred among millennials. It is interesting to note that millennials are being called the loneliest generation; 30per cent of millennials always or often feel alone with no friends and acquaintances to share theirmental burden with. Several studies also highlight that the highest risk of loneliness is most prevalent among the younger generation (Victor andYang2012). The reason is spending more hours on the phone alone in a room rather than engaging in non-screen media activities or connecting with neighborhoods resulting in social isolation in local communities (Mcmaster 2020). One of the studies highlights the varying degree of loneliness in European countries, such as the United Kingdom, where loneliness was reported by 6.3per cent of respondents under age 30, 5.5per cent of those aged 30-59, and 7.4per cent of those age 60 plus. According to a study (Victor andBowling2012), more than 60per cent of older adults responded as never feeling lonely while only less than 10per cent were found to report severe loneliness. In contrary to this, 20-48per cent of adolescent and young adults were found to have reported severe levels of loneliness (Williams andBraun 2019). The world’s largest 2018 BBC Loneliness Experiment highlight that 40per cent of the younger generation aged between 16-24 years felt most lonely in contrary to 27per cent of adults over 75 years of age (BBC Radio2018).
H1: There is a significant difference in loneliness for millennials and post-millennials.
Post Millennials are exposed to different demands resulting from their parent’s ambition to develop and demonstrate outstanding performance in academics and other life domains. Furthermore, this generation is considered to be the most achievement-oriented generation for succeeding in different areas, both professional and personal. Consequently, there is the existence of some self-standards in this younger generation which however results in contradicting their actual abilities. Studies also find that the younger generation tends to suffer from depression because of the excessively high standards that are not truly aligned with their actual abilities and thus, result in a gap between one’s ideal ego and factual ego. This is directed towards personal factors like suffering from the desire to be perfect which is being referred to as multidimensionality perfectionism (Business Insider 2019). The young generation constantly faces the pressure of a competitive and fast-paced world where it is deemed necessary to always stay connected and showcase the best version without any shortcomings (Akua2020). Setting unrealistic expectations and goals to satisfy social media perfectionist image that ends in low self-esteem and anxiety (Akua2020). On the other side, millennials are focused on avoiding any kind of dismissal in their social relationships due to which they emphasize pleasing others. The absence of development opportunities due to the lack of their perfectionist image results in an increasing tendency among millennials to showcase perfectionism. As millennials are motivated to excel in their professional domains for accelerating their career advancement curve, they experience multi-dimensional perfectionism.
H2: There is a significant difference in multi-dimensional perfectionism for millennials and post-millennials.
Millennial employees tend to face many psychosocial problems in today’s work environment which have a negative impact, on long-term, on their mental health at the workplace. Such problems are found to reduce employees’ attention and connectivity at work. Investigation in this research area reveals that mental exhaustion, depression, anxiety, and psychosomatic illness tend to have diminishing effects on psychological health among employees (Nielsen, et al.2017). Millennial employees are required to engage with work as it demands greater responsibility and accountability. Technological advancements require them to be highly competent with new technological platforms used in the organization to compete in global markets. However, employees face a great deal of pressure in adapting to new technological paradigms which increases their levels of stress and anxiety (Lamb and Kwok2016).This means that millennial employees at the workplace face the constant pressure of being exposed to uncertainties and threats that lead to an increased burden on psychological and social reactions. In addition, COVID-19 has disrupted today’s workplaces causing higher level of stress, exhaustion, and distant attitude at work among employees (Rizvi and Ilyaz 2021). Literature shows that psychosocial problems among the younger generation are responsible for low self-esteem, passivity at work, indifference, and lack of professional duties (Lastovkova, et al. 2017). Such issues make it more challenging for employees to cope, while maintaining their competency levels at work. It leads to depression and anxiety issues which in turn affects their overall performance at work (Wright and Bonett 2017). Some of the primary concerns faced by the younger generation include financial burden, risk-taking behavior, use of social media, loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism which results in a negative impact on psychological well-being. Mental health degradation has been associated with social media use and prolonged screen hours that have changed the nature of social interactions (Mcmaster2020). It also gives rise to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), which further increases social pressure (Akua2020). One of the recent studies found that they showcase lower levels of tolerance towards highly challenging jobs that result in increased levels of stress, anxiety and exhaustion, and depression (Sahni2021).
H3: There is a significant difference in anxiety and depression for millennials and post-millennials.
Perfectionism is related to psychological distress in the form of anxiety and depressive states among individuals (Macedo et al. 2015). The study found that the dimensions related to perfectionist strivings affect psychological distress, resulting in negative thinking and increased stressors. It is also a significant causal factor in amplifying symptoms of perceived stress and mental burden (Smith et al. 2016). Studies (Smith, et al.2017), (Smith, et al.2018) show that multidimensional perfectionism has a positive relation with anxiety, the idea of suicide, depression and several suicide attempts. It has been found (Feher et al. 2020), (Oliveira et al. (2021) that three broad dimensions of perfectionism (narcissistic, rigid, and self-critical) are strongly associated with anxiety and stress. It is suggested that it is associated with neuroticism traits that amplify the risk of mental health issues (Stoeber and Corr 2015). This is because they control their energy levels and abilities to achieve high standards and flawless performance at any cost. Such traits and demands affect the coping strategies of individuals in economic, social, and mental crises. Research related to loneliness has presented the correlation of loneliness with factors like emotional support, stress, social deficiency, low self-esteem, hopelessness, and depression (Alkan 2014; Stickley et al. 2015). Other studies (Chang et al.2015), (Holvastet al. 2015), (Yao and Zhong 2014) show strong associations of loneliness with depression because of the incapability of individuals to maintain healthy social relationships. This also points out the absence of a sense of belongingness, which makes it more challenging to enter new environments and thus, triggers mental health issues including depression and anxiety. Loneliness is also reported to negatively impact psychological well-being, mental health, and reduce the quality of life (Dickens, et al. 2011), (Hawkley and Capitanio, 2015). Due to social insufficiency, individuals start losing the skills that are necessary for coping with new environments. It increases the risk of depression among people while making daily activities more challenging (Heinrich andGullone2006).
H4: There is a significant relationship between loneliness, multi-dimensional perfectionism, and mental health.
For the purpose of fulfilling the proposed research objectives, quantitative method of study has been used. Primary data for the study was collected using a structured online questionnaire including five sections. Section I contained 6 items that measured demographic characteristics. Section II contained 9 items that measured loneliness. Section III contained 16 items that measured multidimensional perfectionism. Section IV contained 7 items that measured anxiety. Section V contained 9 items that measured depression. Secondary data was collected using a number of research papers and books.
The sample population for the current study consisted of 150 working professionals. Out of 150 respondents, 80 (53per cent) were females and 70 (47per cent) were males. In terms of the generational cohort, 126 (84per cent) of them were millennials and 24 (16per cent) were post-millennials. Participants were selected using non-probability convenience and snowball sampling by publishing the link to the survey in different social media groups of the researcher (WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram). All participants were volunteers, no compensation was supplied. The procedure followed is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The procedure followed in the present study
.
The survey included four scales in four different sections for measuring loneliness, multi-dimensional perfectionism, anxiety and depression.
UCLA Loneliness Scale- Short Version-.Loneliness was measured using the short version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Doring and Bortz 1993). This short version has 9-items that measure three distinct facets of loneliness including intimate loneliness, relational loneliness, and collective loneliness (Luhmann, et al.2016). The response options include never= 1, rarely= 2, sometimes= 3, and always= 4.
Big Three Perfectionism Scale- Short Form (BTPS-SF)-Multidimensional perfectionism was measured using the short-form version of BTPS (Smith, et al. 2016). The short version contains 16 items that measure three facets/ dimensions of perfectionism including rigid perfectionism, self-critical perfectionism, and narcissistic perfectionism (Feher, et al. 2020). The response options included strongly disagree=1, disagree= 2, neither disagree not agree= 3, agree= 4, and strongly agree= 5.
Seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7)-Anxiety was measured using the GAD-7 Questionnaire which helps in detecting general anxiety disorder among different populations and thus, used for its reliability (Lowe, et al.2008). The questionnaire uses a Likert scale similar to PHQ-9 (Kroenke, et al.2001). The levels of anxiety recorded for the responses is characterized as non-minimal = < 5, mild = 5-9, moderate= 10-14, and severe = > 15(Spitzer, et al. 2006).
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)-A patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) is used for screening depression in the general population (Martin, et al. 2006). The questionnaire uses the Likert scale where the scores range from 0=not at all, 1= several days, 2= more than half the days, and 3= nearly every day (Kroenke, et al. 2001). The levels of depression that are used for predicting depression are characterized as mild= 5-9, moderate 10-14, moderately severe= 15-19, and severe= > 20.
For testing the level of reliability of measures used, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for study variables, as depicted in Table 3. Anxiety and depression along with each dimension of loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism were found to be reliable (> 0.70).
Table 3: Reliability Analysis using Cronbach’s alpha
|
Variable |
Cronbach’s Alpha Score |
|
Loneliness (a) Intimate Loneliness (b) Relational Loneliness (c) Collective Loneliness |
0.436 0.772 0.729 0.859 |
|
Multi-dimensional Perfectionism (a) Rigid Perfectionism (b) Self-critical Perfectionism (c) Narcissistic Perfectionism |
0.866 0.882 0.862 0.822 |
|
Anxiety |
0.878 |
|
Depression |
0.892 |
Shapiro-Wilk test is used for testing the normality of distribution of data for dependent variables: anxiety and depression. As shown in Table 4, the significance value for anxiety (p= 0.171) and depression (p=0.357) indicates that data for both variables is normally distributed (p>0.05).
Table 4: Test of Normality
|
|
Kolmogorov-Smirnov |
Shapiro-Wilk |
||||
|
|
Statistic |
Df |
Sig. |
Statistic |
df |
Sig. |
|
Anxiety |
.057 |
150 |
.200 |
.987 |
150 |
0.171 |
|
Depression |
.052 |
150 |
.200 |
.990 |
150 |
0.357 |
The questionnaires administered to the participants of the study were analyzed quantitatively using Excel and SPSS. The scores for depression and anxiety were calculated as per the author’s instructions outlined in their respective scoring guides. Descriptive statistics for calculating Mean and SD; z-test for analyzing different degrees of loneliness, multi-dimensional perfectionism, anxiety, and depression among millennials and post-millennials. Further, Pearson’s correlation for ascertaining relationships among the variables under study.
Descriptive statistics were performed for the four variables as shown in Table 5. The mean score for loneliness (M= 2.616) indicates that the sample often experienced loneliness. The mean score for multi-dimensional perfectionism (M=2.93) indicated that the sample neither agreed nor disagreed on having multi-dimensional perfectionism. The mean score for anxiety (M=8.41) and depression (M=10.49) indicated the sample experienced mild anxiety and moderate depression, respectively.
Table 5: Descriptive Statistics
|
|
N |
Mean |
S.D. |
|
Loneliness |
150 |
2.616 |
0.364 |
|
Multi-dimensional Perfectionism |
150 |
2.938 |
0.688 |
|
Anxiety |
150 |
8.413 |
4.820 |
|
Depression |
150 |
10.498 |
5.833 |
Table 6 outlines the varying levels of loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism among millennials and post-millennials. Loneliness measures for millennials (M=2.59, SD= 0.35) and post millennials (M= 2.73, SD= 0.43) were not significantly different (p=0.124, p>0.05); H1 is rejected. Multi-dimensional perfectionism measures for millennials (M=2.91, SD= 0.69) and post-millennials (M= 3.09, SD= 0.65) were not significantly different (p=0.215, p>0.05); H2 is rejected.
Table 7 outlines the varying levels of anxiety and depression among millennials and post-millennials. Anxiety and depression measures for millennials (M=8.09, SD=4.894, and M=10.14, SD=5.995) and post-millennials (M= 10.11, SD=4.098, and M=12.37, SD=4.561) were significantly different (p= 0.032, p= 0.037, p<0.05, respectively).H3 is accepted.
Table 6: Z-test results for Loneliness and Multi-dimensional Perfectionism
|
|
Loneliness |
Multi-dimensional Perfectionism |
||||
|
|
Mean |
S.D. |
p |
Mean |
S.D. |
p |
|
Millennials |
2.59 |
0.35 |
0.124 |
2.91 |
0.691 |
0.215 |
|
Post-millennials |
2.73 |
0.43 |
|
3.09 |
0.650 |
|
Table 7: Z-test results for Anxiety and Depression
|
|
Anxiety |
Depression |
||||
|
|
Mean |
S.D. |
p |
Mean |
S.D. |
p |
|
Millennials |
8.09 |
4.894 |
0.032 |
10.14 |
5.995 |
0.037 |
|
Post-millennials |
10.11 |
4.098 |
|
12.37 |
4.561 |
|
Table 8 depicts the Pearson correlation values between dependent (anxiety and depression) and independent variables (loneliness, multi-dimensional perfectionism). No significant correlation was found between the study variables. So, H4is rejected.
Table 8: Correlation between the study variables
|
|
|
Loneliness |
Multi-dimensional Perfectionism |
|
Mental Health |
Anxiety |
0.029 |
-0.038 |
|
|
Depression |
0.049 |
-0.029 |
Mental health problems are becoming increasingly prevalent among the working population, which has a direct
impact on employees' well-being, emotional and mental health, and productivity. To ensure a psychologically safe working environment, organizations need to understand the level of mental health issues prevailing among the working population. Literature suggests that with the changes in the workforce demographics, organizations are witnessing a heterogeneous mix of millennials and post-millennials workers who experience psychological distress at the workplace. The purpose of the study was to expand extant mental health literature by examining varying levels of loneliness, multidimensional perfectionism, anxiety, and depression among millennials and post-millennials. After analyzing the literature on the prevalence of mental health issues among millennials and post-millennials, it was hypothesized that there is a significant difference in mental health measures including depression and anxiety. One of the findings from the z-test statistics confirmed this hypothesis; highlighting that the two-generational cohorts experience varying levels of anxiety and depression. This difference can be attributed to different psycho-social and personal factors due to which employees’ quality of work-life is impacted. However, the hypotheses proposing varying levels of loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism in millennials and post-millennials were not confirmed. It did not agree with the literature which highlighted that the younger generation was more prone to loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism as compared to the older generation. Furthermore, the relationship between the dependent and independent variables was examined and no significant correlation was found between the study variables.
New themes, apart from loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism, need to be explored for establishing causal relationships with mental health issues including depression and anxiety among millennials and post-millennials. Qualitative research can pave the way for understanding different factors that increase the risk of mental health issues. For studying the level of mental health among millennials and post-millennials in the workforce, the overall employment context and organizational climate factors need to be analyzed as well. This will help in understanding the perception towards workplace policies and procedures that may result in loneliness, and multidimensional perfectionism. Integrating organizational climate factors will help in better explaining the everyday behaviour of the workforce that leads to mental health problems. Moreover, theory needs to be developed while studying the moderating role of other demographic factors like gender, ethnicity, education, work status, so that it helps in segregating the prevalence of mental health among different groups. The different constructs of loneliness and multidimensional perfectionism need to be studied for different groups so that theoretical understanding can be developed around those constructs.
From the findings, it is clear that the working professionals often experience loneliness, multidimensional perfectionism, and mental health issues including anxiety and depression. In such a case, it becomes important for employers to reduce the burden of psychological issues for enhancing employee well-being as well as productivity. It is suggested for employers to consider implementing workplace accommodations that can help in reducing the negative impact of mental health issues among the workers. This also means that changes in the current workplace environment will help in fostering an employee-friendly approach. Concerning loneliness, management needs to contribute towards building a meaningful social network for employees both virtually and physically. Since meaningful connections play an important role in reducing the level of loneliness among millennials and post-millennials, managers can encourage team-based work and team-based incentives for strengthening social relationships among the workforce. Management can also add to responsibility towards managing multidimensional perfectionism among Millennials and post-Millennials. For this, employers need to focus on reducing the pressure on employees to minimize mistakes by developing trust towards them. A more accepting environment needs to be developed by employers that will encourage them to learn without the fear of committing mistakes. This will help in minimizing the competitive pressure to build a perfectionist image. Findings also suggest that the workforce experiences mild anxiety and moderate depression for which employers need to play a significant role in reducing mental health problems at the workplace. For managing and preventing such issues, employers need to understand the different factors prevailing in the work setting that results in depression and anxiety. In addition, the management needs to understand the emotional and psychological needs of their millennials and post-millennials workforce who have different expectations from the employer. Effective organizational strategies need to be introduced that can help in reducing mental health risks. It has been suggested that psychosocial factors in the workplace like job autonomy, job security, and social support are related to positive mental health among employees(Fan, et al.2019). These factors contribute towards job satisfaction, adding meaning to life, social contribution, and personal growth of employees which ultimately results in the reduced burden of mental health issues (Laine, et al. 2014).
All participants in the study were recruited through online social media channels. This entails that findings may not be generalized for people who are not active on social networks. Although data collected from the internet is not free from methodological constraints, it is argued that samples recruited online are as diverse, adjusted and at least as good in quality as most traditional methods (Gosling, et al.2004). Further, non-probability sampling techniques have been used in the study, which further raises concerns regarding generalisability. In addition to this, the measurement scale for loneliness (α= 0.436) lacks reliability (smaller than 0.70). Results should therefore be considered with caution. For future study, the impact of different dimensions of loneliness and multi-dimensional perfectionism on mental health can be studied separately. Further, gender differences in loneliness, multi-dimensional perfectionism, and mental health can also be measured between males and females as a way forward. Future research can also examine the findings associated with mental health levels in different domains including academic institutions and corporate organizations, so that area-wise implications can be understood for theoretical development as well as practical implementation.
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