Perceived Overqualification: A Review and Recommendations for Research and Practice

Liu, Songqi; Wang, Mo

doi:10.1108/s1479-3555(2012)0000010005

Cited by 175 publications

(341 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…In brief, because perceived overqualification denotes surplus job capacity employees possess for carrying out their current jobs, overqualified employees may hold "a positive view of their job competence" (Zhang, Law, & Lin, 2016: 62) and sense of agency (Liu & Wang, 2012). Drawing on the literature on self-perceptions and social interactions (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, 2003;Paulhus, 1998;Swann, Chang-Schneider, & McClarty, 2007), we propose that the sense of superiority embedded in perceived overqualification can bring different social implications in interactions with others at work.…”

Section: A Relational Model Of Overqualificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have contended that because perceived overqualification represents a perception of underutilization of abilities and skills, when overqualified employees compare their own qualifications with the required qualifications, they tend to experience a sense of deprivation (Feldman et al, 2002), injustice (Liu & Wang, 2012), and misfit (Maynard et al, 2006), leading to subsequent behavioral outcomes.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A Relational Model of Perceived Overqualification: The Moderating Role of Interpersonal Influence on Social Acceptance

Deng

Guan

et al. 2016

Journal of Management

107

147

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Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTTheories of perceived overqualification have tended to focus on employees' job-related responses to account for effects on performance. We offer an alternative perspective and theorize that perceived overqualification could influence work performance through a relational mechanism. We propose that relational skills, in the form of interpersonal influence of overqualified employees, determine their tendency to experience social acceptance and thus engage in positive work-related behaviors. We tested this relational model across two studies using time-lagged, multi-source data. In Study 1, the results indicated that for employees high on interpersonal influence, perceived overqualification was positively related to self-reported social acceptance, whereas for employees low on interpersonal influence, the relationship was negative.Social acceptance, in turn, was positively related to in-role job performance, interpersonal altruism, and team member proactivity evaluated by supervisors. In Study 2, we focused on peer-reported social acceptance and found that the indirect relationships between perceived overqualification and supervisor-reported behavioral outcomes via social acceptance were negative when interpersonal influence was low and nonsignificant when interpersonal influence was high. The implications of the general findings are discussed. Keywords: perceived overqualification, social acceptance, interpersonal influence, performance A RELATIONAL MODEL OF OVERQUALIFICATION 3 A RELATIONAL MODEL OF PERCEIVED OVERQUALIFICATION: THE MODERATING ROLE OF INTERPERSONAL INFLUENCE ON SOCIAL ACCEPTANCEOverqualification, or the situation where employees possess qualifications such as education, experiences, and/or skills exceeding their job requirements (Erdogan, Bauer, Peiró, & Truxillo, 2011), has become a prevalent phenomenon across different countries (Büchel & Mertens, 2004; Erdogan & Bauer, 2009;Sadava, O'Connor, & McCreary, 2000). Recently, considerable attention from organizational scholars has been devoted to studying employees who consider themselves overqualified (e.g., Feldman, Leana, & Bolino, 2002;Maynard, Joseph, & Maynard, 2006;Maynard & Parfyonova, 2013). For example, research has consistently found that employees who feel overqualified are more likely to develop negative organizational attitudes such as intention to quit and job dissatisfaction, experience poor well-being, and engage in counterproductive behaviors (Erdogan & Bauer, 2009;Johnson & Johnson, 1...

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Section: A Relational Model Of Overqualificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Relational Model of Perceived Overqualification: The Moderating Role of Interpersonal Influence on Social Acceptance

Deng

Guan

et al. 2016

Journal of Management

107

147

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“…It showed that people who feel overqualified experience decreased job satisfaction and low affective commitment Johnson 2000, McKee-Ryan et al, 2009) and have lower self-rated performance (Bolino and Feldman 2000). They are more likely to leave their jobs Bauer 2009, Maynard et al, 2006), and tend to engage in more counterproductive work behaviors (Liu et al, 2015, and fewer extra-role behaviors (Agut et al, 2009), although some inconsistent findings were also reported (see Liu and Wang 2012, for a review). For example, perceived overqualification has been found to positively relate to supervisor rated in-role performance (Holtom et al, 2002), organizational citizenship behavior (Chen 2009), overall job performance (Fine 2007, Fine andNevo 2008), and objective job performance indicators (Erdogan and Bauer 2009). This means that evidence regarding the relationship between perceived overqualification and job performance is, at best, inconclusive.…”

Section: Perceived Overqualificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the association between perceived overqualification and adaptive behavior

Tian

Luksyte

et al. 2017

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explore the relationship between perceived overqualification and adaptive work behavior and examine job autonomy as a factor that may moderate the association. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested in two culturally, demographically, and functionally diverse samples: sample 1 was based on North American community college employees (n=215); sample 2 was based on full-time workers, employed in a Chinese state-owned enterprise specializing in shipping (n=148). Findings In study 1, perceived overqualification was negatively related to self-rated adaptive behavior. A follow-up study 2 extended these findings by demonstrating that perceived overqualification was negatively related to supervisor-rated adaptive work behavior when job autonomy was low, rather than high. Research limitations/implications The results of this research offer an autonomous motivation perspective to explain why perceived overqualification relates to adaptive behavior and suggests a job design approach to encourage adaptive behaviors of people who feel overqualified – a sizable segment of the current workforce. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to explore adaptive behavior of workers who feel overqualified – an outcome that has not been examined in this domain. The findings further point out what can be done to encourage adaptive behaviors among overqualified employees.

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“…Overqualification constitutes a form of underemployment, a broader concept that comprises various situations of having jobs that are inferior by some standards: such as insufficient pay or hours, employment outside of the person’s training and expertise and limited options for utilizing professional skills (for a review, see McKee-Ryan & Harvey, 2011). The awareness of overqualification by an individual, referred to as perceived overqualification, has been widely used as an indicator of underemployment in social science and psychological research (for a review, see Liu & Wang, 2012). This research has shown a negative relationship between perceived overqualification and work-related well-being (e.g., Maynard et al, 2006; Wu, Luksyte, & Parker, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other influencing factors are the person’s standards of comparison (e.g., his or her own prior job situation, the job situation of co-workers or of other immigrants), personality traits and contextual factors. As a result, objective and perceived overqualification are related but distinct constructs (Liu & Wang, 2012; Maltarich, Reilly, & Nyberg, 2011). Prior research suggests that perceived overqualification, compared to objective overqualification, is a more proximal and therefore stronger predictor of work-related well-being (Khan & Morrow, 1991; Liu & Wang, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction and career satisfaction among immigrants: Does host national identity matter?

Wassermann

Fujishiro

Hoppe

2017

International Journal of Intercultural Relations

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Overqualification is a form of person-job misfit that is common among those who reside in a foreign country. It is associated with poor work-related well-being and can inhibit full adjustment to the host society. The goal of our study is to examine the impact of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction and career satisfaction among immigrants. Furthermore, we investigated immigrants’ host national identity as a moderator of the impact of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction and career satisfaction. We analysed longitudinal online survey data from 124 Italian and Spanish immigrants who migrated to Germany between 2000 and 2014. Regression analyses show that perceived overqualification is negatively associated with job satisfaction six months later. Furthermore, host national identity moderates the association between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction: low overqualification is beneficial for job satisfaction whereas high overqualification is a threat for job satisfaction, especially for immigrants who identify strongly with the host society. We do not find corresponding direct and moderating effects on career satisfaction. We conclude that indicators of acculturation, such as host national identity, are worth considering in order to understand the impact of person-job misfit on work-related well-being among immigrants.

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Perceived Overqualification: A Review and Recommendations for Research and Practice

Cited by 175 publications

References 102 publications

A Relational Model of Perceived Overqualification: The Moderating Role of Interpersonal Influence on Social Acceptance

A Relational Model of Perceived Overqualification: The Moderating Role of Interpersonal Influence on Social Acceptance

On the association between perceived overqualification and adaptive behavior

The effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction and career satisfaction among immigrants: Does host national identity matter?

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