Keywords
civil service
professional qualification
job attitudes
How to Cite
Abstract
Purpose – This study investigated the relationship between perceived overqualification and job attitudes (affective and continuance organizational commitment and turnover intention) in the public sector.
Theoretical framework – The theoretical framework was based on theories about perceived overqualification, human capital, equity, relative deprivation, organizational commitment, and turnover intention, as well as Brazilian civil service legislation.
Design/methodology/approach – Brazilian public servants (n = 243) answered scales of perceived overqualification, affective and continuance commitment, and turnover intention, and these data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling.
Findings – The results showed that affective commitment was negatively related to turnover intention and mediated the relationship between perceived overqualification and turnover intention.
Practical & social implications of research – The findings suggest that overqualification is an inevitable phenomenon that needs to be managed, as rejecting overqualified workers (as is done in the private sector) may be a discriminatory practice and crime.
Originality/value – Overqualification has been present in the Brazilian civil service for a long time, but it has not been fully investigated. The present study is one of the few empirical studies on the overqualification phenomenon in the Brazilian civil service.
Keywords – resource management, civil service, professional qualification, job attitudes.
References
Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of inequity. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 67(5), 422-436. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0040968. PMid:14081885.
Albrecht, P. A. T., & Krawulski, E. (2011). Concurseiros e a busca por um emprego estável: Reflexões sobre os motivos de ingresso no serviço público. Cadernos de Psicologia Social do Trabalho, 14(2), 211-226. http:// dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.1981-0490.v14i2p211-226.
Allan, B. A., Rolniak, J. R., & Bouchard, L. (2020). Underemployment and well-being: Exploring the dark side of meaningful work. Journal of Career Development, 47(1), 111-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894845318819861.
Almeida, D. B. A., Silva, T. F. C., & Souza, J. F. (2020). Profissionalização do serviço público: Análise dos concursos públicos para servidores técnico-administrativos dos institutos federais. Revista Brasileira de Administração Científica, 11(3), 199-209. http://dx.doi.org/10.6008/ CBPC2179-684X.2020.003.0014.
Andrade, D. C. T. (2020). Engajamento no trabalho no serviço público: Um modelo multicultural. RAC. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 24(1), 49-76. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2020190148.
Arvan, M. L., Pindek, S., Andel, S. A., & Spector, P. E. (2019). Too good for your job? Disentangling the relationships between objective overqualification, perceived overqualification, and job dissatisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 1-15. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103323.
Ayari, A., & AlHamaqi, A. (2022). Investigation of organizational commitment and turnover intention: A study of Bahraini oil and gas industry. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 34(1), 123-138. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10672-021-09382-2.
Bao, Y., & Zhong, W. (2023). Public service motivation helps: Understanding the influence of public employees’ perceived overqualification on turnover intentions. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 1467-8500.12588. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12588.
Becker, G. S. (1994). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education (3rd ed.). The University of Chicago Press.
Bichett, M., & Vargas, S. M. L. (2021). Fatores influenciadores na satisfação e motivação ao trabalho no setor público municipal. Desafio Online, 9(1), 138-162. http://dx.doi.org/10.55028/don.v9i1.10195.
Borges-Andrade, J. E., Rentería-Pérez, E., & Toro, J. P. (2018). Organizational/work psychology in Latin America. In R. Ardila (Ed.), Psychology in Latin America: Current status, challenges, and perspectives (pp. 105-158).
Springer. Boucinhas, J. C. F. (2008). Discriminação por sobrequalificação [Dissertação de mestrado]. Universidade de São Paulo. https://teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/2/2138/tde-30092009- 095057/pt-br.php
Brasil. (1991, February 19). Dispõe sobre o regime jurídico dos servidores públicos civis da União, das autarquias e das fundações públicas federais (Lei nº 8.112, de 11 de dezembro de 1990). Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil. https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l8112cons.htm
Brasil, Ministério da Economia, Secretaria de Planejamento Econômico. (2020). Panorama macroeconômico. Brasília. https://www.gov.br/economia/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo/ publicacoes/relatorios/2020/panmacro_spe_slides_- janeiro2020.pdf/view
Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Castelar, I., Veloso, A. W. A., Ferreira, R. T., & Soares, I. (2010). Uma análise dos determinantes de desempenho em concurso público. Economia Aplicada, 14(1), 81-98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-80502010000100006.
Castro, M. A. A., & Oliveira, K. P. (2023). Carreiras individuais: Descortinando as trajetórias de servidores Técnico-Administrativos em Educação (TAES). Revista de Ciências da Administração, 25(65), 1-21. http://dx.doi. org/10.5007/2175-8077.2023.e90399.
Cheng, B., Zhou, X., Guo, G., & Yang, K. (2018). Perceived overqualification and cyberloafing: A moderated-mediation model based on equity theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(3), 565-577. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551- 018-4026-8.
Crosby, F. (1976). A model of egoistical relative deprivation. Psychological Review, 83(2), 85-113. http://dx.doi. org/10.1037/0033-295X.83.2.85.
Dar, N., & Rahman, W. (2020). Two angles of overqualification-the deviant behavior and creative performance: The role of career and survival job. PLoS One, 15(1), e0226677. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0226677. PMid:31896133.
Debus, M. E., Gross, C., & Kleinmann, M. (2020). The power of doing: How job crafting transmits the beneficial impact of autonomy among overqualified employees. Journal of Business and Psychology, 35(3), 317-331. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-019-09625-y.
Erdogan, B., & Bauer, T. N. (2009). Perceived overqualification and its outcomes: The moderating role of empowerment. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 557-565. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0013528. PMid:19271809.
Erdogan, B., & Bauer, T. N. (2021). Overqualification at work: A review and synthesis of the literature. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 8(1), 259-283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/ annurev-orgpsych-012420-055831.
Erdogan, B., Bauer, T. N., Peiró, J. M., & Truxillo, D. M. (2011). Overqualified employees: Making the best of a potentially bad situation for individuals and organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4(2), 215-232. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01330.x.
Erdogan, B., Karaeminogullari, A., Bauer, T. N., & Ellis, A. M. (2020). Perceived overqualification at work: Implications for extra-role behaviors and advice network centrality. Journal of Management, 46(4), 583-606. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206318804331.
Erdogan, B., Tomás, I., Valls, V., & Gracia, F. J. (2018). Perceived overqualification, relative deprivation, and person-centric outcomes: The moderating role of career centrality. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 107, 233-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.05.003.
Falatah, R., & Conway, E. (2019). Linking relational coordination to nurses’ job satisfaction, affective commitment and turnover intention in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(4), 715-721. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ jonm.12735. PMid:30449053.
Feitosa, J., Salas, E., & Borges-Andrade, J. (2018). Industrial, work and organizational psychology in Latin America. In D. S. Ones, N. Anderson & H. K. Sinangil (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology (pp. 149-157). SAGE Publications. http:// dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473914964.n8
Feldman, D. C., & Maynard, D. C. (2011). A labor economic perspective on overqualification. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4(2), 233-235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754- 9434.2011.01331.x.
Fine, S., & Nevo, B. (2011). Overqualified job applicants: We still need predictive models. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4(2), 240- 242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01333.x.
Fontainha, F. C., Geraldo, P. H. B., Veronese, A., & Alves, C. A. (2015). O concurso público brasileiro e a ideologia concurseira. Revista Jurídica da Presidência, 16(110), 671-702. http://dx.doi.org/10.20499/2236- 3645.RJP2015v16e110-38.
Galperin, R. V., Hahl, O., Sterling, A. D., & Guo, J. (2020). Too good to hire? Capability and inferences about commitment in labor markets. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(2), 275-313. http://dx.doi. org/10.1177/0001839219840022.
Gonçalves, J. M. N. (2021, October 4-8). Sobrequalificação percebida e satisfação no trabalho: Efeito moderador do contexto de trabalho. In Anais do 45º Encontro da Associação Nacional de Pós-graduação e Pesquisa em Administração. ANPAD. Virtual.
Gonçalves No., J. M., & Borges-Andrade, J. E. (2018). Escala de sobrequalificação percebida: Adaptação e evidências de validade. Estudos de Psicologia, 23(3), 224- 235. http://dx.doi.org/10.22491/1678-4669.20180022.
Guo, Y.-F., Wang, Y., Plummer, V., Cross, W., Lam, L., & Wang, K.-F. (2022). Associations between perceived overqualification, organisational commitment and work passion of nurses: A multicentre cross-sectional study. Journal of Nursing Management, 30(5), 1273-1282. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13610. PMid:35338533.
Hair Jr., J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2009). Análise multivariada de dados (6ª ed.). Porto Alegre: Bookman.
Harari, M. B., Manapragada, A., & Viswesvaran, C. (2017). Who thinks they’re a big fish in a small pond and why does it matter? A meta-analysis of perceived overqualification. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 102, 28-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.06.002.
Hu, J., Erdogan, B., Bauer, T. N., Jiang, K., Liu, S., & Li, Y. (2015). There are lots of big fish in this pond: The role of peer overqualification on task significance, perceived fit, and performance for overqualified employees. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(4), 1228-1238. http://dx.doi. org/10.1037/apl0000008. PMid:25546266.
Hur, H., & Abner, G. (2024). What makes public employees want to leave their job? A meta-analysis of turnover intention predictors among public sector employees. Public Administration Review, 84(1), 115-142. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/puar.13601.
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE. (2023). Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Contínua Trimestre Móvel – PNADC/M. Rio de Janeiro: Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática. https://sidra. ibge.gov.br/home/pnadcm Jehanzeb,
K., & Mohanty, J. (2020). The mediating role of organizational commitment between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior: Power distance as moderator. Personnel Review, 49(2), 445-468. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2018-0327.
Johnson, W. R., Morrow, P. C., & Johnson, G. J. (2002). An evaluation of a perceived overqualification scale across work settings. The Journal of Psychology, 136(4), 425- 441. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223980209604169. PMid:12230145.
Kampkötter, P., Petters, L. M., & Sliwka, D. (2021). Employee identification and wages: On the economics of “Affective Commitment”. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 188, 608-626. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. jebo.2021.05.036.
Kaymakci, R., Görener, A., & Toker, K. (2022). The perceived overqualification’s effect on innovative work behaviour: Do transformational leadership and turnover intention matter? Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 3, 100068. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crbeha.2022.100068.
Kim, J. J., Park, J., Sohn, Y. W., & Lim, J. I. (2021). Perceived overqualification, boredom, and extra-role behaviors: Testing a moderated mediation model. Journal of Career Development, 48(4), 400-414. http://dx.doi. org/10.1177/0894845319853879.
Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). The Guillford Press.
Kulkarni, M., Lengnick-Hall, M. L., & Martinez, P. G. (2015). Overqualification, mismatched qualification, and hiring decisions: Perceptions of employers. Personnel Review, 44(4), 529-549. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PR11-2013-0204.
Lee, A., Erdogan, B., Tian, A., Willis, S., & Cao, J. (2021). Perceived overqualification and task performance: Reconciling two opposing pathways. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 94(1), 80-106. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1111/joop.12323.
Liu, S., & Wang, M. (2012). Perceived overqualification: A review and recommendations for research and practice. In P. L. Perrewé, J. R. B. Halbesleben & C. C. Rosen (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and wellbeing: The role of the economic crisis on occupational stress and wellbeing (pp. 1-42). Emerald. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/S1479- 3555(2012)0000010005.
Liu, S., Luksyte, A., Zhou, L., Shi, J., & Wang, M. (2015). Overqualification and counterproductive work behaviors: Examining a moderated mediation model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(2), 250-271. http://dx.doi. org/10.1002/job.1979.
Lobene, E. V., & Meade, A. W. (2013). The effects of career calling and perceived overqualification on work outcomes for primary and secondary school teachers. Journal of Career Development, 40(6), 508-530. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894845313495512.
Luksyte, A., & Spitzmueller, C. (2011). Behavioral science approaches to studying underemployment. In D. C. Maynard, & D. C. Feldman (Eds.), Underemployment: Psychological, economic, and social challenges (pp. 35-56). New York: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1- 4419-9413-4_3.
Maciel, C. O., & Camargo, C. (2013). Sobrequalificação no trabalho e sua influência sobre atitudes e comportamentos. RAC. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 17(2), 218-238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1415-65552013000200006.
Maia, B. (2021). O adestramento para o estado: Tradição de conhecimento e técnicas de aprendizado entre candidatos ao serviço público no Brasil. Anuário Antropológico, 46(1), 253-271. http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/aa.7691.
Marioni, L. S. (2020). Overeducation in the labour market: Evidence from Brazil. Education Economics, 29(1), 53-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2020.1832201.
Maynard, D. C., Joseph, T. A., & Maynard, A. M. (2006). Underemployment, job attitudes, and turnover intentions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(4), 509-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/job.389.
Maynard, D. C., & Parfyonova, N. M. (2013). Perceived overqualification and withdrawal behaviors: Examining the roles of job attitudes and work values. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86(3), 435- 455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joop.12006.
Mendes, M. (2011). Política de pessoal do governo federal: Diretrizes para maior produtividade, qualidade, economicidade e igualdade. In F. B. Meneguin (Ed.), Agenda legislativa para o desenvolvimento nacional (pp. 357-384).
Brasília: Subsecretaria de Edições Técnicas, Senado Federal. https://www12.senado.leg.br/publicacoes/ estudos-legislativos/tipos-de-estudos/outras-publicacoes/ agenda-legislativa/
Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61-89. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/1053-4822(91)90011-Z.
Moreira, A., Cesário, F., Chambel, M. J., & Castanheira, F. (2020). Competences development and turnover intentions: The serial mediation effect of perceived internal employability and affective commitment. European Journal of Management Studies, 25(1), 5-22. http://dx.doi. org/10.1108/EJMS-10-2020-001.
Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. New York: Academic Press.Piotrowska, M. (2022). Job attributes affect the relationship between perceived overqualification and retention. Future Business Journal, 8(1), 1-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/ s43093-022-00147-3. R
Core Team. (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing (version 4.0.4). Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
Ramos, J., & Ramos, A. (2020, June). Over-qualification: When formal training is not enough: A review of its antecedents, consequences and its dynamics. In EAWOP/ ESRC Small Group Meeting on Young People’s Work, Employment and Careers. Glasgow, Scotland.
Ravangard, R., Ansarizade, N., & Sajjadnia, Z. (2013). Study of the effects of perceived organizational justice and its components on organizational commitment of administrative and financial employees of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences general hospitals in 2012. Archives of Pharmacy Practice, 4(1), 35-43. http://dx.doi. org/10.4103/2045-080X.111580.
Reade, C., & Lee, H.-J. (2012). Organizational commitment in time of war: Assessing the impact and attenuation of employee sensitivity to ethnopolitical conflict. Journal of International Management, 18(1), 85-101. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.intman.2011.09.002.
Russell, Z. A., Ferris, G. R., Thompson, K. W., & Sikora, D. M. (2016). Overqualified human resources, career development experiences, and work outcomes: Leveraging an underutilized resource with political skill. Human Resource Management Review, 26(2), 125-135. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.09.008.
Sales, M. L., & Xavier Fo., J. L. J. (2017). Serviço público como expectativa profissional dos graduandos em administração. Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo em Administração, 11(1), 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.12712/ rpca.v11i1.796.
Santos, M. S., Brandão, L. E. T., & Maia, V. M. (2015). Decisão de escolha de carreira no Brasil: Uma abordagem por opções reais. Revista de Administração, 50(2), 141-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.5700/rausp1190.
Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2010). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Sesen, H., & Ertan, S. S. (2020). Perceived overqualification and job crafting: The moderating role of positive psychological capital. Personnel Review, 49(3), 808-824. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2018-0423.
Siqueira, M. M. M. (1995). Antecedentes comportamentais de cidadania organizacional: Análise de um modelo póscognitivo [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. Universidade de Brasília.
Siqueira, M. M. M., Gomide Jr., S., Oliveira, A. F., & Polizzi, A. F. (2014). Intenção de rotatividade. In M. M. M. Siqueira (Ed.), Novas medidas do comportamento organizacional: Ferramentas de diagnóstico e de gestão (pp. 209-216).
Porto Alegre: Artmed. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2009). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
Triana, M. C., Trzebiatowski, T., & Byun, S.-Y. (2017). Lowering the threshold for feeling mistreated: Perceived overqualification moderates the effects of perceived age discrimination on job withdrawal and somatic symptoms. Human Resource Management, 56(6), 979-994. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21812.
van Dijk, H., Shantz, A., & Alfes, K. (2020). Welcome to the bright side: Why, how, and when overqualification enhances performance. Human Resource Management Review, 30(2), 100688. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2019.04.004.
Vinayak, R., Bhatnagar, J., & Agarwal, M. N. (2021). When and how does perceived overqualification lead to turnover intention? A moderated mediation model. Evidence-based HRM, 9(4), 374-390. http://dx.doi. org/10.1108/EBHRM-09-2020-0123.
Wang, T., Abrantes, A. C. M., & Liu, Y. (2023). Intensive care units nurses’ burnout, organizational commitment, turnover intention and hospital workplace violence: A cross-sectional study. Nursing Open, 10(2), 1102-1115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1378. PMid:36126210.
Wassermann, M., & Hoppe, A. (2019). Perceived overqualification and psychological well-being among immigrants. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 18(1), 34-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000219.
Wassermann, M., Fujishiro, K., & Hoppe, A. (2017). The effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction and career satisfaction among immigrants: Does host national identity matter? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 61, 77-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. ijintrel.2017.09.001. PMid:29527078.
Weymer, A. S. Q., Maciel, C. O., & Castor, B. V. J. (2014). A influência da sobrequalificação e da aprendizagem sobre a satisfação do indivíduo no trabalho. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 16(50), 96-109. http://dx.doi. org/10.7819/rbgn.v16i50.1639.
Wu, C. H., Luksyte, A., & Parker, S. K. (2015). Overqualification and subjective well-being at work: The moderating role of job autonomy and culture. Social Indicators Research, 121(3), 917-937. http://dx.doi. org/10.1007/s11205-014-0662-2.
Xavier, J. G. R. (2021, October 4-8). Análise da influência da política de remuneração sobre o processo de identificação organizacional: Um estudo em uma instituição de ensino pública. In Anais do 45º Encontro da Associação Nacional de Pós-graduação e Pesquisa em Administração. ANPAD. Virtual.
Yang, J., Pu, B., & Guan, Z. (2019). Entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intention in startups: Mediating roles of employees’ job embeddedness, job satisfaction and affective commitment. Sustainability, 11(4), 1101. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11041101.
Ye, X., Li, L., & Tan, X. (2017). Organizational support: Mechanisms to affect perceived overqualification on turnover intentions: A study of Chinese repatriates in multinational enterprises. Employee Relations, 39(7), 918-934. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ER-11-2016-0213.
If a paper is approved for publication, its copyright has to be transferred by the author(s) to the Review of Business Management – RBGN.
Accordingly, authors are REQUIRED to send RBGN a duly completed and signed Copyright Transfer Form. Please refer to the following template: [Copyright Transfer]
The conditions set out by the Copyright Transfer Form state that the Review of Business Management – RBGN owns, free of charge and permanently, the copyright of the papers it publishes. Although the authors are required to sign the Copyright Transfer Form, RBGN allows authors to hold and use their own copyright without restrictions.
The texts published by RBGN are the sole responsibility of their authors.
The review has adopted the CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 allowing redistribution and reuse of papers on condition that the authorship is properly credited.