Despite increasing research on the mechanisms that underlie the relation between perceived overqualification (POQ) and extra-role behaviors, the relation’s affective mechanisms have been understudied. In this study, we focus on the role of job boredom among overqualified workers in order to understand two types of extra-role behaviors: counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Using a sample of white-collar employees in South Korea (N = 298), we found that job boredom fully mediated the effects of POQ on CWB and OCB after controlling for the effects of state anger and neuroticism. We additionally examined whether career calling moderates the indirect effects of POQ on CWB and OCB via job boredom and found career calling mitigated the negative indirect effect of POQ on OCB via job boredom. However, career calling did not moderate the positive indirect effect of POQ on CWB. Implications of these findings are discussed.
BelschakF. D.Den HartogD. N. (2009). Consequences of positive and negative feedback: The impact on emotions and extra-role behaviors. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58, 274–303. doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00336.x
2.
BennettR. J.RobinsonS. L. (2000). Development of a measure of workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 349–360. doi:10.I037//0021-9010.85.3.349
3.
BerryC. M.OnesD. S.SackettP. R. (2007). Interpersonal deviance, organizational deviance, and their common correlates: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 410–424. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.410
4.
BrislinR. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1, 185–216. doi:10.1177/135910457000100301
5.
BrodskyA.AmabileT. M. (2018). The downside of downtime: The prevalence and work pacing consequences of idle time at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103, 496–512. doi:10.1037/apl0000294
6.
BruursemaK.KesslerS. R.SpectorP. E. (2011). Bored employees misbehaving: The relationship between boredom and counterproductive work behaviour. Work & Stress, 25, 93–107. doi:10.1080/02678373.2011.596670
7.
BundersonJ. S.ThompsonJ. A. (2009). The call of the wild: Zookeepers, callings, and the double-edged sword of deeply meaningful work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 54, 32–57. doi:10.2189/asqu.2009.54.1.32
8.
CaplanR. D.CobbS.FrenchJ. R. P.van HarrisonR.PinneauS. R. (1975). Job demands and worker health. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
9.
ChiaburuD. S.OhI. S.BerryC. M.LiN.GardnerR. G. (2011). The five-factor model of personality traits and organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 1140–1166. doi:10.1037/a0024004
10.
ChinA.MarkeyA.BhargavaS.KassamK. S.LoewensteinG. (2017). Bored in the USA: Experience sampling and boredom in everyday life. Emotion, 17, 359–368. doi:10.1037/emo0000232
11.
ChuL. C. (2014). Mediating toxic emotions in the workplace—The impact of abusive supervision. Journal of Nursing Management, 22, 953–963. doi:10.1111/jonm.12071
12.
DengH.GuanY.WuC. H.ErdoganB.BauerT.YaoX. (2018). A relational model of perceived overqualification: The moderating role of interpersonal influence on social acceptance. Journal of Management, 44, 3288-3310. doi:10.1177/0149206316668237
13.
DikB. J.DuffyR. D. (2009). Calling and vocation at work: Definitions and prospects for research and practice. The Counseling Psychologist, 37, 424–450. doi:10.1177/0011000008316430
14.
DikB. J.EldridgeB. M.StegerM. F.DuffyR. D. (2012). Development and validation of the calling and vocation questionnaire (CVQ) and brief calling scale (BCS). Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 242–263. doi:10.1177/1069072711434410
15.
DikB. J.StegerM. F. (2008). Randomized trial of a calling-infused career workshop incorporating counselor self-disclosure. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 203–211. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.04.001
16.
DroryA. (1982). Individual differences in boredom proneness and task effectiveness at work. Personnel Psychology, 35, 141–151. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1982.tb02190.x
17.
DuffyR. D.DikB. J. (2013). Research on calling: What have we learned and where are we going?Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83, 428–436. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2013.06.006
18.
EdwardsJ. R.Van HarrisonR. (1993). Job demands and worker health: Three-dimensional reexamination of the relationship between person-environment fit and strain. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 628–648. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.78.4.628
19.
ElangovanA. R.PinderC. C.McLeanM. (2010). Callings and organizational behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 428–440. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2009.10.009
20.
ElpidorouA. (2017). The moral dimensions of boredom: A call for research. Review of General Psychology, 21, 30–48. doi:10.1037/gpr0000098
21.
ErdoganB.BauerT. N. (2009). Perceived overqualification and its outcomes: The moderating role of empowerment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 557–565. doi:10.1037/a0013528
22.
ErdoganB.BauerT. N.PeiróJ.TruxilloD. M. (2011). Overqualified employees: Making the best of a potentially bad situation for individuals and organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 4, 215–232. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01330.x
23.
FeldmanD. C. (1996). The nature, antecedents and consequences of underemployment. Journal of Management, 22, 385–407. doi:10.1016/S0149-2063(96)90030-6
24.
FeldmanD. C.LeanaC. R.BolinoM. C. (2002). Underemployment and relative deprivation among re-employed executives. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 453–471. doi:10.1348/096317902321119682
25.
FisherC. D. (1993). Boredom at work: A neglected concept. Human Relations, 46, 395–417. doi:10.1177/001872679304600305
26.
GameA. M. (2007). Workplace boredom coping: Health, safety, and HR implications. Personnel Review, 36, 701–721. doi:10.1108/00483480710774007
27.
HarariM. B.ManapragadaA.ViswesvaranC. (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. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2017.06.002
28.
HarjuL. KHakanenJ. J.SchaufeliW. B. (2014). Job boredom and its correlates in 87 Finnish organizations. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56, 911–918. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000248
29.
HarjuL. K.HakanenJ. J.SchaufeliW. B. (2016). Can job crafting reduce job boredom and increase work engagement? A three-year cross-lagged panel study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 95, 11–20. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2016.07.001
30.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
31.
HayesA. F. (2015). An index and test of linear moderated mediation. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 50, 1–22. doi:10.1080/00273171.2014.962683
32.
HuJ.ErdoganB.BauerT. N.JiangK.LiuS.LiY. (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. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100, 1228–1238. doi:10.1037/apl0000008
33.
JohnO. P.SrivastavaS. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research, 2, 102–138.
34.
JohnsonG. J.JohnsonW. R. (1996). Perceived overqualification and psychological well-being. The Journal of Social Psychology, 136, 435–445. doi:10.1080/00224545.1996.9714025
35.
Kristof-BrownA. L.GuayR. P. (2011). Person-environment fit. In ZedeckS. (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology: Maintaining, expanding, and contracting the organization (Vol. 3, pp. 3–50). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
36.
Kristof-BrownA. L.ZimmermanR. D.JohnsonE. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals’ fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58, 281–342. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00672.x
37.
LearyM. R.RogersP. A.CanfieldR. W.CoeC. (1986). Boredom in interpersonal encounters: Antecedents and social implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 968–975. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.5.968
38.
LeeKAllenN. J. (2002). Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 131–142. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.1.131
39.
LeongF. T.SchnellerG. R. (1993). Boredom proneness: Temperamental and cognitive components. Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 233–239. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(93)90193-7
40.
LiuS.LuksyteA.ZhouL.ShiJ.WangM. (2015). Overqualification and counterproductive work behaviors: Examining a moderated mediation model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36, 250–271. doi:10.1002/job.1979
41.
LiuS.WangM. (2012). Perceived overqualification: A review and recommendations for research and practice. In The role of the economic crisis on occupational stress and well-being (pp. 1–42). Emerald Group. doi:10.1108/S1479-3555(2012)0000010005
42.
LuksyteA.SpitzmuellerC.MaynardD. C. (2011). Why do overqualified incumbents deviate? Examining multiple mediators. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 279–296. doi:10.1037/a0022709
43.
MaltarichM. A.ReillyG.NybergA. J. (2011). Objective and subjective overqualification: Distinctions, relationships, and a place for each in the literature. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 4, 236–239. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2011.01332.x
44.
MaynardD. C.FeldmanD. C. (Eds.). (2011). Underemployment: Psychological, economic, and social challenges. Springer Science & Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9413-4
45.
MaynardD. C.JosephT.MaynardA. (2006). Underemployment, job attitudes, and turnover intentions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 509–536. doi:10.1002/job.389
46.
MaynardD. C.ParfyonovaN. M. (2013). Perceived overqualification and withdrawal behaviours: Examining the roles of job attitudes and work values. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86, 435–455. doi:10.1111/joop.12006
47.
McKee-RyanF. M.HarveyJ. (2011). “I have a job, but…”: A review of underemployment. Journal of Management, 37, 962–996. doi:10.1177/0149206311398134
48.
MilesD. E.BormanW. E.SpectorP. E.FoxS. (2002). Building an integrative model of extra role work behaviors: A comparison of counterproductive work behavior with organizational citizenship behavior. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 10, 51–57. doi:10.1111/1468-2389.00193
49.
OrganD. W.RyanK. (1995). A meta-analytic review of attitudinal and dispositional predictors of organizational citizenship behavior. Personnel Psychology, 48, 775–802. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1995.tb01781.x
50.
ParkJ.SohnY. W.HaY. J. (2016). South Korean salespersons’ calling, job performance, and organizational citizenship behavior: The mediating role of occupational self-efficacy. Journal of Career Assessment, 24, 415–428. doi:10.1177/1069072715599354
51.
ReijsegerG.SchaufeliW. B.PeetersM. C.TarisT. W.van BeekI.OuweneelE. (2013). Watching the paint dry at work: Psychometric examination of the Dutch Boredom Scale. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 26, 508–525. doi:10.1080/10615806.2012.720676
52.
SaksA. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21, 600–619. doi:10.1108/02683940610690169
53.
SchabramK.MaitlisS. (2017). Negotiating the challenges of a calling: Emotion and enacted sensemaking in animal shelter work. Academy of Management Journal, 60, 584–609. doi:10.5465/amj.2013.0665
54.
SchweizerT. S. (2006). The psychology of novelty-seeking, creativity and innovation: Neurocognitive aspects within a work-psychological perspective. Creativity and Innovation Management, 15, 164–172. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8691.2006.00383.x
55.
SpectorP. E.FoxS. (2002). An emotion-centered model of voluntary work behavior: Some parallels between counterproductive work behavior and organizational citizenship behavior. Human Resource Management Review, 12, 269–292. doi:10.1016/S1053-4822(02)00049-9
56.
SpectorP. E.FoxS. (2010). Counterproductive work behavior and organisational citizenship behavior: Are they opposite forms of active behavior?Applied Psychology: An International Review, 59, 21–39. doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.2009.00414.x
57.
SpectorP. E.FoxS.PenneyL. M.BruursemaK.GohA.KesslerS. (2006). The dimensionality of counterproductivity: Are all counterproductive behaviors created equal?Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 446–460. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2005.10.005
58.
SpielbergerC. D. (1988). Manual for the state-trait anger expression inventory (STAXI). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
59.
TolorA. (1989). Boredom as related to alienation, assertiveness, internal-external expectancy, and sleep patterns. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45, 260–265. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(198903)45:2<260::AID-JCLP2270450213>3.0.CO;2-G
60.
UgwuF. O.OnyishiI. E. (2018). Linking perceived organizational frustration to work engagement: The moderating roles of sense of calling and psychological meaningfulness. Journal of Career Assessment, 26, 220–239. doi:10.1177/1069072717692735
61.
van der HeijdenG. A.SchepersJ. J.NijssenE. J. (2012). Understanding workplace boredom among white collar employees: Temporary reactions and individual differences. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 21, 349–375. doi:10.1080/1359432X.2011.578824
62.
van HooffM. L.van HooftE. A. (2014). Boredom at work: Proximal and distal consequences of affective work-related boredom. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19, 348–359. doi:10.1037/a0036821
63.
WattJ. D.HargisM. B. (2010). Boredom proneness: Its relationship with subjective underemployment, perceived organizational support, and job performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 163–174. doi:10.1007/s10869-009-9138-9
64.
WhiteoakJ. W. (2014). Predicting boredom-coping at work. Personnel Review, 43, 741–763. doi:10.1108/PR-09-2012-0161
65.
WhitmanD. S.Van RooyD. L.ViswesvaranC. (2010). Satisfaction, citizenship behaviors, and performance in work units: A meta-analysis of collective construct relations. Personnel Psychology, 63, 41–81. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2009.01162.x
