Have you heard of the concept of “career dysmorphia?” Well, you may not have heard of the term before, but you may be familiar with the feeling of being left behind by your peers and colleagues. Comparison is the thief of joy, and the urge to give in to these spiraling thoughts is one worth fighting off.
Scrolling through LinkedIn is an overwhelming task for many of us today, even if playing the many mini-games on the platform occasionally softens the blow. Seeing friends and acquaintances prosper in their careers is a bittersweet experience, particularly when they excel in the same industry that you operate in. The occasional negative thought passes through all of our minds but if the problem of comparison with colleagues becomes a chronic one, then the non-medical diagnosis of career dysmorphia may just be an apt one for you.
Recognizing career dysmorphia is equally important for employees and their HR teams as they navigate the shifting landscape of employment in 2025. (Image: Pexels)
What Is Career Dysmorphia and Why Is It on the Rise?
Much like the medical diagnosis of body dysmorphia, career dysmorphia is a newly coined non-medical term that deals with one’s obsession with their career. Oftentimes, individuals fail to have a realistic perception of their careers and the progress they have made, and the problem is worsened by the constant comparison of their situation with those around them.
This repetitive self-doubt and comparison with colleagues can cause an individual’s confidence in themselves to drop, resulting in a skewed perception of their capabilities. The Fast Company equates this career dysmorphia to an extension of the imposter syndrome, which is an accurate way to describe the thoughts and emotions that occur as a result of this unbalanced perspective.
Why Should You Learn to Recognize Career Dysmorphia?
Those who don’t have a clear view of their own abilities and achievements begin doubting their ability to perform, eventually hesitating from taking on responsibilities they don’t think they can handle or that they don’t think they deserve. This hesitation eventually impairs their performance and standing in the organization. Every bit of criticism is inflated to represent their shortcomings as an individual rather than a minor error. Over time, their career starts to suffer.
An inaccurate perception of one’s abilities can limit their responsiveness at work and further strain their relationships with colleagues they now resent. Some employers are reluctant to offer extravagant pay or benefits to employees, so those who cannot advocate for better rewards for themselves are unlikely to find them. This constant state of nervousness and apprehension about one’s career can lead to negative emotions that accompany the individual into their private lives as well, causing the warped perspective to only grow stronger.
No career is perfect, and neither are the individuals behind them. Gaining an accurate perception of one’s career can help in many ways, from allowing them to make the changes needed to succeed or fighting for the position they deserve. Recognizing the signs of career dysmorphia and addressing the many limitations such thoughts place on an individual is no easy task, but with competitors already waiting to overtake job seekers at a vulnerable moment, it’s a change worth undertaking.
Do You Have Career Dysmorphia?
Career dysmorphia is not a medical diagnosis, and there is no concrete way to measure whether this is a condition you have been afflicted by. However, laying the facts out and looking at your career from a neutral lens can help gain some perspective on where things stand. If you find yourself permanently unsatisfied with your career progress and constantly compare your career to those around you, you may be at risk of career dysmorphia.
Some degree of negative thinking is inevitable, but constant preoccupation with your career or with the professional lives of those around you is a dangerous precedent to set. Your career may not be where you wanted it to be just yet, but this does not mean that you have failed or been unsuccessful.
Taking stock of your growth since the early days of your career and setting more measured, achievable goals for the coming months is a great way to infuse your career with some well-deserved optimism. If there are areas where you can see potential for growth, this only means that you have room to improve in your career.
What Should You Do About Career Dysmorphia?
Understanding career dysmorphia and the consequences of it on your career are essential steps to ensuring you set yourself on the right track towards success. To cease this constant comparison with colleagues and obtain a better estimate of your abilities and career-bound success, it is important to set more measurable goals and milestones and reflect on the feedback that is received.
If you recognize signs of career dysmorphia in yourself, you can:
- Seek a mentor who can provide a reliable estimate of your career growth and realign you towards success
- Understand the growth opportunities available in your industry or workplace to understand what metrics are available to reflect your progress
- Set realistic milestones for yourself based on your own industry to ensure you can focus on achievable growth
- Set boundaries with how frequently you access social media or professional networking portals to limit time spent on comparisons
- Ask more questions when you receive feedback, so you get a realistic assessment of where things stand in terms of your abilities
- Determine realistic ways to improve on your skills and industry-relevant abilities when you do feel there are shortcomings in your career development
- Build your confidence in your abilities rather than determining progress by measures like income or position
HR’s Role in Addressing Career Dysmorphia
On the surface, career dysmorphia may appear to be a problem for employees to identify and resolve on their own, but this declining confidence in their abilities affects the workplace as a whole. Allowing employees to feel more confident in their career growth can help with issues like absenteeism and declining performance, or even improve retention. Working with employees to set a clear career plan and progression goals can help them feel more secure in their roles and also allow them to envision a future with the organization.
Helping employees to seek and navigate feedback from managers can allow them to rid themselves of feelings of inadequacy, while also giving them a fixed direction to grow in. From supporting employees in their career ambitions to using tools like performance improvement plans to help them grow, there are many ways for HR to contribute to individual development.
This, in turn, will lead to organizational growth, allowing the success to uniformly benefit everyone.
Do you have any experience with facing or overcoming career dysmorphia? Share it with us in the comments. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.