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Overqualification and Subjective Well-Being at Work: The Moderating Role of Job Autonomy and Culture

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Abstract

Overqualification is a form of underemployment wherein people have more skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities than required for a job. Past research has shown that overqualification is negatively related to subjective well-being at work, such as lower job satisfaction. To mitigate this negative impact, drawing on a job design perspective, the authors proposed that job autonomy can buffer overqualification’s negative effects. Based on the model of culture fit in managerial practice, as well as regulatory fit theory, the authors further proposed that the buffering effects of job autonomy apply only to employees from individualistic (vs. collectivistic) cultures. Data from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey were analyzed. Results of a two-level multilevel modeling analysis showed a three way interaction between overqualification, job autonomy, and national culture in predicting subjective well-being at work. Job autonomy buffered the negative effects of overqualification on subjective well-being at work, but only in individualistic cultures.

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Notes

  1. Although the results in Table 2 (Step 2) show a negative and significant two-way interaction between individualism/collectivism and job autonomy in predicting subjective well-being at work, such interaction effect is not robust. The two-way interaction was not significant when it was tested alone. Also, a two-way interaction between individualism/collectivism and overqualification was not significant when it was tested alone.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK

    Chia-Huei Wu

  2. Management and Organizations, UWA Business School, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Aleksandra Luksyte & Sharon K. Parker

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  1. Chia-Huei Wu
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Wu, CH., Luksyte, A. & Parker, S.K. Overqualification and Subjective Well-Being at Work: The Moderating Role of Job Autonomy and Culture. Soc Indic Res 121, 917–937 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0662-2

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