Big fish in a small pond?

Feel like you're a big fish in a small pond? If you're an employee who perceives you're overqualified for your position, chances are you're unsatisfied with your job, uncommitted to your organization and experience psychological strain, according to a study co-authored by a faculty member from Florida Atlantic University's College of Business.

Perceived overqualification - the belief that one has surplus skills compared to job requirements - can have negative implications for employees and employers alike, said Michael Harari, Ph.D., assistant professor in FAU's Department of Management Programs. Harari, together with fellow researchers Archana Manapragada and Chockalingam Viswesvaran of Florida International University, 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 Journal of Vocational Behavior.

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.

"That deprivation is what is theorized to result in these negative job attitudes," Harari said. "There's a discrepancy between expectation and reality. Because of this, you're angry, you're frustrated and as a result you don't much care for the job that you have and feel unsatisfied."

Psychological strain can stem from employees who don't feel they're being rewarded for their efforts because there is an imbalance between their efforts and the reward structure of work.

"We invest effort at work and we expect rewards in return, such as esteem and career opportunities," Harari said. "And 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."

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.

"It seems to suggest that there is a need to take jobs below one's skill level in order to gain entrance into the workforce," Harari said. "We do see that, as people get older, they are less likely to report overqualification."

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About Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu

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