本研究從員工情緒以及情緒調節的視角,考察了資質過剩感對員工組織公民行為的影響機制。通過對534名企事業員工的問卷調查數據進行分析,結果表明:員工的資質過剩感對其組織公民行為具有顯著的消極作用;工作憤怒在資質過剩感與員工組織公民行為之間起部分中介作用;不同的情緒調節方式對員工資質過剩感與其工作憤怒的正向關系有不同的調節作用,認知重評方式有助于緩解資質過剩感對憤怒以及組織公民行為的消極影響,而表達抑制方式的調節作用恰恰相反。這一研究結果表明了情緒調節在工作領域中所發揮的作用,具有一定理論意義與實際價值。

Overqualification, as a global labor force phenomenon, has received increasing attention from researchers over the past few decades. Although overqualification can be measured objectively by using the match between one’s education or experience level and the requirements of the job position, more researchers pay attention to employees’ perception of this mismatch, named as perceived overqualification(POQ). Previous research on POQ primarily focused on its negative consequences on employees’ job attitudes and their in-role behaviors(e.g., job performance), but only few studies have examined the relationship between POQ and extra-role behavior(e.g., organizational citizenship behavior). It seems that employees who feel overq ualified may have extra energy and thus will have more opportunities to help co-workers and organization, however, empirical evidence in this domain is lacking. Building on the person-job fit theory, the appraisal theory of emotion, the emotioncentered model, and the emotion regulation theory, this research tested the predicted effects of POQ on organizational citizenship behavior(OCB) via the role of anger at job and the moderating effects of two emotion regulation strategies(reappraisal and suppression) on these relationships. Data were collected from 534 full-time employees from diverse occupations in China. Employees completed a paper-and-pencil survey at their convenience and returned the completed surveys to the researcher. The questionnaire included measures for POQ, OCB, anger for job arrangement, and emotion regulation. Results from confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of scales, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the above measures were satisfactory, ranging from 0.65 to 0.95. Consistent with our theoretical framework, results from hierarchical regression analysis revealed that POQ had both direct and indirect effects on employee’ OCB. Furthermore, anger toward job arrangement mediated the relationship between POQ and OCB, in which higher POQ led to stronger anger toward job arrangement, which in turn led to few OCB. The results also supported the moderating role of different emotional regulation strategies on the relations between POQ and anger at job as well as t he relations between POQ and OCB. Reappraisal, an antecedent-focused strategy that involves reframing events in order to alter their emotional impact, buffered the relations between POQ and anger/OCB, whereas suppression, a response-focused strategy that involves inhibiting emotion-expressive behavior, strengthened the relations between POQ and anger/OCB. In conclusion, from a theoretical perspective, the current research provides empirical evidence in explaining why POQ leads to less OCB through an affective path. The finding further highlights the important moderating role of individual difference in emotion regulation strategies during the process. Additionally, given the current findings, the research has some important practical implications. For examp le, the research revealed that the fact that POQ resulted in lower levels of OCB was possibly because of the anger emotion at job. This suggests that managers should give attention to employees’ emotions in workplace. Considering the buffering effects of reappraisal strategy on the relation between POQ and negative emotions, the results provide useful cues for managers to design training on emotion regulation for employees to help them dealing with their emotions so as to achieve their full potential.