When the Job Does Not Fit: The Moderating Role of Job Crafting and Meaningful Work in the Relation Between Employees’ Perceived Overqualification and Job Boredom

Abstract

Job boredom is a common experience at work; however, it has been neglected in research and practice compared to other well-being states. Based on the person-job fit theory, this article aims to examine the association between employees’ perceived overqualification and job boredom, analyzing potential moderators. In Study 1, we analyzed job crafting as a moderator using a sample of 832 employees from different organizations in Puerto Rico. Results supported the relation between employees’ perceived overqualification and job boredom but did not support the moderating effect of job crafting since only two dimensions (i.e., increasing structural resources and increasing challenging demands) significantly moderate this association in an opposite direction. In Study 2, we analyzed the moderating role of meaningful work with a sample of 394 employees. Results supported the moderating effect of meaningful work on the relation between employees’ perceived overqualification and job boredom. While job crafting dimensions of increasing structural resources and increasing challenging demands strengthen or have little effect on reducing the association between employees’ perceived overqualification and job boredom, meaningful work buffers this effect. These findings suggest that organizations must provide opportunities for employees to find meaning in their jobs. Additional research is needed to understand the role of job crafting to reduce job boredom.

Impact of Perceived Organizational Support, Servant Leadership, Creative Self-Efficacy, and Conscientiousness on Job Boredom Via Job Crafting: A Study on Banking Sector of Pakistan

“…Introduction Boredom occurs either unintentionally or intentionally but stays at work regardless of the technological innovation or changes in work. Boredom is something that cannot be avoided and is across the board (Sánchez-Cardona, Vera, Martínez-Lugo, Rodríguez-Montalbán, & Marrero-Centeno, 2020). Job boredom is a condition where an employee seems to be passive and less interested in performing day to day activities (Harju, Schaufeli, & Hakanen, 2018).…”

Perceived Overqualification and Intensive Smartphone Use: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…However, although the effect of job boredom, an unpleasant state commonly links to insufficient stimulation in the work environment (Mikulas and Vodanovich, 1993;Reijseger et al, 2013), on intensive smartphone use was well documented in the literature (Elhai et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2020), and there are relatively few studies on the association between POQ or other forms of person-job misfit and job boredom Sánchez-Cardona et al, 2020). For the following reasons, we proposed that POQ could affect intensive smartphone use through job boredom.…”

“…Job boredom is defined as an unpleasant and deactivated emotion, which is characterized by low arousal and dissatisfaction caused by a lack of a stimulating work environment (Reijseger et al, 2013). Given that boredom is an emotional response to a less stimulating work environment, it is usually experienced by overqualified employees (Liu and Wang, 2012;Sánchez-Cardona et al, 2020;Kim et al, 2021). Furthermore, the P-E fit theory also suggests that individuals could take some measures to cope with the negative emotions caused by person-job misfits (Kristof-Brown et al, 2005;van Vianen, 2018).…”

Distributed Leadership and New Generation Employees’ Proactive Behavior: Roles of Idiosyncratic Deals and Meaningfulness of Work

“…Scholars have explored the measurement methods of the meaningfulness of work ( Lysova et al, 2019 ), dimensions ( Steger et al, 2012 ), influencing factors (such as decent work and hope; Allan et al, 2019a , b ), and consequences (such as happiness, exhaustion, and engagement Martela and Pessi, 2018 ; Bailey et al, 2019 ; Vogel et al, 2020 ). Some scholars are concerned that the meaningfulness of work as a boundary condition affects the impact of context on employee’ positive behavior ( Sa’nchez-Cardona et al, 2020 ; Sawhney et al, 2020 ). However, empirical research on the role of meaningfulness of work as mediating role between distributed leadership and new generation employees’ proactive behavior is very rare.…”