The effects of perceived overqualification on spouse undermining and support
Journal of Managerial Psychology
ISSN: 0268-3946
Article publication date: 27 June 2023
Issue publication date: 6 July 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the work–home resources model regarding the work domain and the home domain as a whole resource exchange system with directional resource flows, this study proposed that perceived overqualification could lead to personal resources drain, especially for employees with high work–family centrality (i.e. valuing work more than family). Furthermore, the drained personal resources of the focal employees brought in more spouse undermining and less spouse support at home.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach in which Study 1 involving 259 pairs and Study 2 involving 260 pairs of employees and their spouses from China provided support to the first-stage moderated mediation model.
Findings
Results revealed that when employees' work–family centrality is high, perceived overqualification could elicit personal resources drain and induce more spouse undermining and less spouse support. On the contrary, when employees' work–family centrality is low, perceived overqualification could reduce personal resources drain and render less spouse undermining and more spouse support. The two studies consistently provided support for most of the hypotheses.
Practical implications
The research results suggest that organizations could take some feasible measures to help overqualified employees articulate the value of work–family centrality to manage overqualified employees' work–family resources further, bringing appropriate sequential behaviors at home.
Originality/value
Research on perceived overqualification has primarily focused on its consequences in the work domain, paying scant attention to whether it can influence the home domain outside work. This research contributes to this line of literature by investigating how and when perceived overqualification leads to family outcomes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements: The first two authors (Junwei Zhang and Ye Li) contribute equally to this manuscript. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72271065, 72102104), the Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Youth Fund in China (20YJC630071), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province in China (2022A1515011788).
Citation
Zhang, J., Li, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, H. and Tang, J. (2023), "The effects of perceived overqualification on spouse undermining and support", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 352-372. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-05-2022-0249
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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