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.
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