Overqualified Employees Experience Psychological Strain
Perceived overqualification occurs when an employee is expecting a job that utilizes their qualifications but does not find themselves in such a position, leaving them feeling essentially deprived.
Feel like you鈥檙e a big fish in a small pond? If you鈥檙e an employee who perceives you鈥檙e overqualified for your position, chances are you鈥檙e unsatisfied with your job, uncommitted to your organization and experience psychological strain, according to a study co-authored by a faculty member from .
Perceived overqualification 鈥 the belief that one has surplus skills compared to job requirements 鈥 can have negative implications for employees and employers alike, said , Ph.D., assistant professor in 抖M女仆鈥檚 . Harari, together with fellow researchers Archana Manapragada and Chockalingam Viswesvaran of , carried out a meta-analysis of perceived overqualification synthesizing 25 years of research to clarify disparate and conflicting findings in the literature. Their findings were recently published in the .
Perceived overqualification occurs when an employee is expecting a job that utilizes their qualifications but does not find themselves in such a position, leaving them feeling essentially deprived.
鈥淭hat deprivation is what is theorized to result in these negative job attitudes,鈥 Harari said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a discrepancy between expectation and reality. Because of this, you鈥檙e angry, you鈥檙e frustrated and as a result you don鈥檛 much care for the job that you have and feel unsatisfied.鈥
Psychological strain can stem from employees who don鈥檛 feel they鈥檙e being rewarded for their efforts because there is an imbalance between their efforts and the reward structure of work.
鈥淲e invest effort at work and we expect rewards in return, such as esteem and career opportunities,鈥 Harari said. 鈥淎nd for an overqualified employee, that expectation has been violated. This is a stressful experience for employees, which leads to poor psychological wellbeing, such as negative emotions and psychological strain.鈥
Employees who feel overqualified are also more likely to engage in deviant behaviors, Harari said. This might range from coming in late or leaving early to theft or bullying co-workers. The more overqualified an employee feels, the more likely they are to engage in counterproductive behaviors that impair the effective functioning of organizations, Harari said. Employees who were younger, overeducated and narcissistic tended to report higher levels of perceived overqualification.
鈥淚t seems to suggest that there is a need to take jobs below one鈥檚 skill level in order to gain entrance into the workforce,鈥 Harari said. 鈥淲e do see that, as people get older, they are less likely to report overqualification.鈥澛
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