Abstract

Overqualification leads to stress, anxiety and depression and can therefore pave the way for bad mental health. Other research however claims that overqualification doesn’t necessarily engender discontentment. It can result in better work performances, positive future expectations and a larger chance of experiencing upward mobility. This qualitative study shows that the dichotomy in possible outcomes can be explained by the broader ‘coping resources’ that are, or are not, accessible for overqualified employees. Feeling connected with the job, encountering a sense of significance and meaning and experiencing social support from colleagues stimulate the viewpoint of an overqualified job position as an opportunity and a challenge. These coping can even counter the perception of feeling overqualified for a job. Lack of these positive coping resources, on the other hand, gives rise to stress and unhealthy outcomes. Apart from these job characteristics, there is also evidence of a social stigma connected to overqualified work employment. This article offers a renewing insight in the underlying mechanisms and determinants of social stress as a consequence of overqualification.

How to Cite:

Van Hulle, M. & Vanroelen, C., (2016) “Overkwalificatie: hoogopgeleid, hoge verwachtingen?: een kwalitatief onderzoek naar de impact van overkwalificatie op de sociale stresservaringen van jonge hooggeschoolde werknemers”, Sociologos 37(3), 192–210. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86917