Overqualification Theory, Research, and Practice: Things That Matter

The impact of overqualification on the intention of urban withdrawal from the perspective of talent crowding

Talent agglomeration greatly promotes the development of cities as a special form of talent allocation. However, excessive agglomeration of talent also leads to talent crowding and overqualification, which undermines the effectiveness of employing human resources and stimulates talent urban withdrawal. Based on the data from 327 questionnaires, data analysis was performed using Mplus 8.0 and HLM 6.08, this study explores the internal mechanism between overqualification and talent's intention of urban withdrawal from the perspective of talent crowding. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) Overqualification is positively correlated with talents' intention of urban withdrawal. (2) Psychological contract breach plays a mediating effect between overqualification and the talents' intention of urban withdrawal. (3) Relational mobility is negatively correlated with talents' intention of urban withdrawal. (4) Relational mobility plays a moderating role in the relationship between overqualification and talents' intention of urban withdrawal. (5) Urban livability is negatively correlated with talents' intention of urban withdrawal. (6) Urban livability plays a moderating role in the relationship between overqualification and talents' intention of urban withdrawal. The results can further improve the human resource management theory and serve as a foundation for developing and implementing population management policies in cities.

Congruence in Perceived Employee–Peer Overqualification and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Abstract. Drawing on equity theory and person–group fit theory, we examined the association between (in)congruence in employee and peer overqualification and perceived insider status. We further proposed that perceived insider status is related to employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The results of multilevel polynomial regressions using data collected with 211 employees from 55 teams supported the hypothesized congruence effect. Specifically, employees’ perceived insider status was greater, and their OCB was maximized, when employees and their peers had congruent perceptions of their overqualification levels. Furthermore, when both employees and their peers perceived their overqualification levels as low, perceived insider status and OCB were higher than when both perceived their overqualification levels as high. These findings highlight the pivotal role of congruence between employee and peer perceptions of overqualification at work.

The Effect of Perceived Over-Qualification on Turnover Intention From a Cognition Perspective

Employee turnover caused by over-qualification has become a new problem in organizational management. The mechanism underpinning the boundaries between perceived over-qualification and employee turnover, however, remains unclear. To address this gap, the current study employed multi-factor ANOVA, hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method to analyze the relationship between perceived over-qualification and employee turnover intention based on the survey data of 396 respondents in China. Overall, the results revealed that perceived over-qualification was positively correlated with turnover intention. It was also found that self-efficacy had a mediating effect on the relationship between perceived over-qualification and turnover intention. Further, professional identity had a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived over-qualification and turnover intention. Our findings expand the boundary of influence around perceived over-qualification and provide theoretical support for employee management.

Perceived Overqualification and Job Crafting: The Curvilinear Moderation of Career Adaptability

Developments in direct and indirect educational systems have increased the number of individuals with competencies that are higher than the required expectations of their current jobs. This concept of overqualification is drawing interest today, while underqualification was the focus in the past. Currently, research on perceived overqualification (POQ) has focused on its negative influences; however, this study aimed to explore the positive and nonlinear influence of POQ on job crafting and the moderating effect of career adaptability on these functions. Data were collected from 257 individuals in three Korean telecom companies. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicate that POQ had a reverse U-shaped nonlinear influence on job crafting, indicating that an appropriate level of POQ can drive job crafting, leading to performance improvements in organizations and individuals. Moreover, career adaptability moderated the relationship between POQ and job crafting. When career adaptability was at an average or high level, the reverse U-shaped nonlinear influence of POQ on job crafting strengthened. These results are expected to assist in creating both an environment to reduce the negative influence of POQ and healthy sustainability in human resources development.

Do overeducated individuals have increased risks of ill health?: a Swedish population-based cohort study

Previous studies indicate that the increasing educational level in many post-industrial nations may imply that subgroups of the population work in occupations for which they are overeducated. We aimed to investigate whether overeducation is associated with future self-rated health and psychological distress. The analytical sample consisted of 21,159 participants from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort. Individuals with upper secondary or university education, who in 2006 or 2007 had occupations requiring less education, were considered overeducated. The outcomes were self-rated health (SRH) and psychological distress in 2010. Overeducated women had an increased risk of less than good SRH, compared to university-educated women in matching occupations (adjusted odds ratios (OR): 2.44 confidence intervals (CI): 1.32-4.51 for overeducated women with secondary school education), but not compared to less educated women in the same occupational class (adjusted OR: 0.87 CI:0.32-2.38 for overeducated women with secondary school education). We found no increased risk of less than good SRH for overeducated men, and no association between overeducation and psychological distress for either sex. The results indicate that overeducation is not per se associated with onset of less than good SRH or psychological distress in a short-term perspective, and the findings support education expansion as a means of improving public health.