Perceived Over Qualification And Dysfunctional Outcomes: A Moderated-Mediation Model Of Relative Deprivation And Career Centrality

Abstract

This study was intended to research the effect of perceived overqualification on counterproductive work behavior (CWB), emotional exhaustion (EE), and turnover intention (TI) among the faculty members of the Pakistani public higher education system. The study particularly examined the mediating/intermediating impact of the relative deprivation (RD) and moderating impact of career centrality (CC). The study hypothesized that highly qualified employees felt emotional strain and disengagement when they perceived their skills to have been underutilized and this affects their behavior in a negative manner. Quantitative research design was followed with the use of a structured questionnaire that was given to 355 fulltime faculty members of the public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, who were selected on the basis of random sampling. The tool had dimensions of POQ, RD, CWB, EE, and TI. The data were analyzed using SPSS where descriptive and reliability analysis were conducted and then using Smart-PLS where measurement and structural model tests were done.  Findings indicated that perceived overqualification was a significant predictor of relative deprivation that completely mediated its influence on counterproductive work behavior, emotional exhaustion and turnover intention. The centrality of career was not statistically significant as a moderating factor. Such results highlight that perceptions of unfairness and inadequate use are some of the psychological factors that are major contributors to burnout and deviance among academic employees.  The research has some practical implications to university administrators and HR policy makers: matching qualifications with jobs, introducing the transparent reward systems, and providing the psychological support programs, which help to avoid emotional burnout. The future research needs to consider longitudinal designs and the use of a sample in the private-sector or inter-provincial to increase the generalizability and investigate other mediating and moderating constructs.