Perceived overqualification and performance: The role of the peer group

Research on the relationship between perceived overqualification and individual performance has examined individual experiences of overqualification in isolation. The present study approaches this relationship in a new light by examining a condition under which perceptions of overqualification lead to higher versus lower performance levels. This condition is the joint perception of overqualification held by one's colleagues. Regression analyses based on data from 780 employees in 62 teams in a service organisation in the United Kingdom reveal that overqualified employees perform better as peer-group perceptions of overqualification increase. Conversely, employees with lower perceptions of overqualification perform worse as peer-group perceptions of overqualification increase. These results indicate that HRM practitioners can avoid negative outcomes of overqualification if they position overqualified individuals within teams, where other employees are also overqualified.Die bisherige Forschung zum Zusammenhang zwischen Überqualifikation und individueller Leistungserbringung hat überqualifizierte Mitarbeitende weitestgehend isoliert betrachtet. Die vorliegende Studie beleuchtet diesen Wirkungszusammenhang aus einem geänderten Blickwinkel, indem eine Rahmenbedingung untersucht wird, unter der die individuelle Wahrnehmung von Überqualifikation zu höherer beziehungsweise niedrigerer Leistungserbringung führt. Diese Rahmenbedingung ist die gemeinsame Wahrnehmung von Überqualifikation innerhalb der Arbeitsgruppe. Regressionsanalysen basierend auf Daten von 780 Mitarbeitenden in 62 Teams in einer Dienstleistungsorganisation in Großbritannien zeigen, dass die Leistungserbringung von überqualifizierten Mitarbeitenden steigt, je mehr sich die Arbeitsgruppe als überqualifiziert einschätzt. Im Gegensatz dazu erbringen Mitarbeitende mit geringer Überqualifikation schlechtere Leistungen, wenn sie in einer Arbeitsgruppe mit Überqualifizierten arbeiten. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass Personalverantwortliche die negativen Auswirkungen von Überqualifikation vermeiden können, indem sie überqualifizierte Personen in Teams mit weiteren überqualifizierten Mitarbeitenden einsetzen

Automorphic properties of generating functions for generalized odd rank moments and odd Durfee symbols

We define two-parameter generalizations of Andrews' $(k+1)$-marked odd Durfee symbols and $2k$th symmetrized odd rank moments, and study the automorphic properties of some of their generating functions. When $k=0$ we obtain families of modular forms and mock modular forms. When $k \geq 1$, we find quasimodular forms and quasimock modular forms

HRM in healthcare: The role of work engagement

Purpose: Due to increasing cost pressures, and the necessity to ensure high quality patient care while maintaining a safe environment for patients and staff, interest in the capacity for HRM practices to make a difference has piqued the attention of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study is to present and test a model whereby engagement mediates the relationship between four HRM practices and quality of care and safety in two different occupational groups in healthcare, namely, nurses and administrative support workers. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modelling was used to analyze questionnaire data collected by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom as part of their 2011 Staff Survey (n=69,018). We tested the hypotheses for nurses and administrative support workers separately. Findings: Training, participation in decision-making, opportunities for development, and communication were positively related to quality of care and safety via work engagement. The strength of the relationships was conditional on whether an employee was a nurse or administrative support worker. Originality/value: This is the first paper to examine the mediating role of engagement on the relationship between four relevant HRM practices in the healthcare context, and outcomes important to healthcare practitioners. We also add value to the HRM literature by being among the first to use the Job Demands Resources Model to explain the impact of HRM practices on performance outcomes. Moreover, we provide insight into how HRM practices affect outcomes in the world’s largest publicly funded healthcare service

Reducing perceptions of overqualification and its impact on job satisfaction: The dual roles of interpersonal relationships at work

A sizeable portion of the working population perceives that they are overqualified for their jobs. This is problematic given that research consistently shows that such beliefs translate into lower levels of job satisfaction. Hence it behoves human resource management scholars to identify factors that influence perceptions of overqualification, and also moderators that may reduce the negative effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction. In this study, we present a moderated path model that posits that the quality of the relationships that employees hold with their leader and with their team are not only antecedents of perceived overqualification, but they also are hypothesised to weaken the negative relationship between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction. Survey data that was gathered from two organisations in the Netherlands (n=183) supported the model. Implications for theory and practice in human resource management are discussed

The role of employee engagement in the relationship between job design and task performance, citizenship and deviant behaviours

The present study examined a potential mediator of the job design-performance relationship, namely employee engagement. Data were obtained via a survey of 283 employees in a consultancy and construction firm based in the UK and from supervisors' independent performance evaluations. The results reveal that employees who hold jobs that offer high levels of autonomy, task variety, task significance and feedback are more highly engaged and, in consequence, receive higher performance ratings from their supervisors, enact more organizational citizenship behaviours and engage in fewer deviant behaviours. Theoretical and practical implications are discusse