This research investigates career self-regulatory responses to perceived overqualification (i.e. POQ) and explores the paradoxical implications of POQ for employee career development. Drawing on self-regulation theory, it identifies past focus and future focus as critical boundary conditions and examines how POQ interacts with these temporal foci to predict career crafting via occupational self-efficacy (OSE).
Using a convenience sampling approach, data were collected from 337 employees across multiple industries in China through a three-wave survey with one-month intervals between waves. POQ and temporal focus were measured at Time 1, OSE at Time 2, and career crafting at Time 3. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses in SPSS.
Results showed that temporal focus moderated the relationship between POQ and OSE. The indirect effect of POQ on career crafting via OSE was negative when past focus was high and positive when future focus was high.
In selection and ongoing career management, managers should prioritize and cultivate future focus among overqualified employees while offering career support that helps those with a strong past focus reframe their past experiences, thereby increasing the likelihood that POQ is interpreted in ways that support OSE and constructive career development.
This study clarifies the career implications of POQ by showing that its indirect effect on career crafting via OSE is conditional on employees' temporal focus, thereby refining the self-regulation perspective on POQ.
