Table 12 Qualitative characterization of the participants in the current study
From: Job attributes affect the relationship between perceived overqualification and retention
Item | Perceived overqualification because of unused skills and experience, POQSE | Perceived overqualification because of unused knowledge and education, POQKE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
How much you disagree or agree with the statement: | ||||
Percentage of participants who answered | ||||
disagree + strongly disagree | agree + strongly agree | disagree + strongly disagree | agree + strongly agree | |
Opportunities for professional development | ||||
 In my current workplace, I have ample opportunity for professional development | 57% | 23% | 66% | 20% |
 I will have the opportunity for promotion within the next year | 59% | 23% | 62% | 18% |
 My current job meets my expectations and needs regarding opportunities for advancement and career development (adapted from Saks and Ashforth, [94]) | 40% | 38% | 52% | 27% |
 Employability: I have the opportunity to find a new and better job | 27% | 47% | 32% | 47% |
 In the future, including other situations than my current job, I will have great opportunities for professional development and career plan implementation | 35% | 38% | 36% | 37% |
 My employer offers a number of good training courses that I can participate in to improve my skills | 48% | 29% | 62% | 20% |
The beginning of a professional career | ||||
 Higher education was required of applicants for your first ever job that you got after completing your education | 74% | 26% | 81% | 19% |
 Higher education was actually needed for your first ever job that you got after completing your education | 65% | 35% | 79% | 21% |
Career plan | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 I have a plan for developing my career | 31% | 44% | 38% | 41% |
 Deprivation (higher percentage of disagree + strongly disagree responses means higher deprivation) | ||||
 Deprivation due to employment conditions: My employment conditions (tasks, responsibilities, promotion opportunities, salaries, bonuses) are similar to those of people with the same qualifications in other organizations | 39% | 23% | 42% | 20% |
 Deprivation due to financial well-being: I am wealthier compared to the general population of my local area | 46% | 15% | 51% | 14% |
Distributive justice | ||||
 Considering the workload of the assigned tasks, my colleagues receive higher salaries and/or bonuses | 37% | 29% | 39% | 26% |
 My co-workers have greater opportunities to use their skills | 33% | 38% | 37% | 34% |
Emotional outcomes of perceived overqualification | ||||
 Depression: I feel depressed when I have to do unimportant work (adapted from Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation Scale, developed by Robinson et al. [91]) | 43% | 51% | 32% | 43% |
 Life satisfaction: My life so far has been good | 7% | 65% | 10% | 62% |
 Financial satisfaction: I am satisfied with my financial situation | 41% | 37% | 48% | 31% |
 Burnout: In recent months, I have felt an excess of responsibilities at work that I could not cope with | 68% | 0% | 68% | 0% |
Positive behavioral responses to perceived overqualification | ||||
 Job crafting: You are trying to adjust the work you do so that it gives you more satisfaction | 17% | 38% | 22% | 31% |
 You do extra work to get a promotion (or get a full-time position) as soon as possible | 26% | 28% | 30% | 22% |
Negative behavioral responses to perceived overqualification | ||||
 You are dissatisfied and perform the assigned tasks with as little effort as possible | 25% | 34% | 28% | 39% |
Overall assessment of the job | ||||
 I would describe my job as good | 46% | 23% | 44% | 24% |
 In my current job, I have the opportunity to do what I want and enjoy doing (adapted from Saks and Ashforth, [94]) | 40% | 35% | 46% | 27% |
Relations with the team | ||||
 I and the group of people I work with agree on the amount of work that needs to be put into the tasks we are assigned (adapted from Saks and Ashforth, [94]) | 23% | 46% | 23% | 44% |
 I feel strongly connected to the people I work with (based on Brawley et al. [14] | 34% | 36% | 37% | 34% |
 The way my immediate supervisor manages is in line with my expectations (adapted from Saks and Ashforth, [94]) | 27% | 53% | 33% | 33% |
Quality of education | ||||
 The college/university where I studied offered a high quality of instruction and ranked high among universities in the country | 25% | 45% | 28% | 38% |
 Studies, training, postgraduate studies have improved my qualification | 11% | 67% | 13% | 60% |
Innovativeness (adapted from Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation Scale, developed by Robinson et al. [91] | ||||
 I get tired of working with people who have lots of new ideas | 37% | 36% | 42% | 28 |
 I prefer to join a group people who are already carrying out a project rather than propose a completely new idea | 26% | 45% | 24% | 40% |
 The lack of challenges in my job affects my evaluation of the work I am currently performing | 7% | 26% | 7% | 28% |
Achievement (adapted from Entrepreneurial Attitude Orientation Scale, developed by Robinson et al. [91] | ||||
 I believe that specific results are necessary to be able to evaluate whether something is successful or not | 13% | 67% | 14% | 69% |
 I often sacrifice my private time and personal convenience to take advantage of professional opportunities that come my way | 30% | 55% | 29% | 52% |
Personality(1) Based on: Facets of personality by Gosling et al. [35]. Locus of Control Scale by Rotter [92],Self-esteem measure by Robins et al. [90],Risk aversion measure by Greco and Roger [37],Procrastination items adapted from Tuckman, [101] | ||||
 Antagonism: I consider myself critical of others, confrontational | 29% | 19% | 34% | 13% |
 Conscientiousness: I consider myself a conscientious, disciplined person | 7% | 41% | 7% | 39% |
 Openness: I consider myself open to new experiences, with a complex view of the world | 10% | 46% | 9% | 42% |
 Agreeableness: I consider myself a conciliatory, kind-hearted person | 6% | 47% | 4% | 51% |
 External locus of control: I often feel that I have little influence over what happens to me Sometimes I feel that I don't have enough control over the direction my life is taking | 21% 21% | 58% 53% | 24% 26% | 51% 49% |
 Self-esteem: I have high self-esteem | 12% | 75% | 12% | 68% |
 Risk aversion: When making a decision, I am deterred by the fear of making mistake | 18% | 58% | 22% | 49% |
 Procrastination: When I make an action plan, I try to follow it It's not in my nature to procrastinate | 8% 16% | 74% 55% | 8% 21% | 69% 52% |
Values of life (adapted from [10] | ||||
 In life, I value financial comfort that allows me to possess things, which I really care about | 16% | 64% | 16% | 60% |
 I value owning property in life | 18% | 56% | 23% | 54% |
 I value a career in life (achieving success in professional work) | 14% | 62% | 16% | 62% |
 I value respect and appreciation from other people in life | 12% | 66% | 10% | 64% |
 I value friendship in life | 14% | 71% | 9% | 71% |
 I value family life | 8% | 74% | 10% | 71% |
Work-Welfare Indicators (by Baron, 2008) | ||||
 Parental education is very important | 26% | 51% | 34% | 43% |
 Own education is very important | 16% | 72% | 13% | 68% |
 Own ambition is very important | 14% | 67% | 13% | 66% |
 Having a job is very important | 10% | 79% | 10% | 80% |
 Having a wealthy family is very important | 23% | 63% | 24% | 61% |
Conflicts in the family | ||||
 Financial matters often cause quarrels in your family | 50% | 28% | 53% | 28% |