Do overqualified employees seek feedback? The role of hostile attributional style, mutual recognition respect and overwork climate

Purpose This study aims to explore the main reasons that overqualified employees do not seek feedback. Integrating the perspective of resource conservation, we simultaneously test the relative applicability of mutual recognition respect and an overwork climate to alleviate the above relationship. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on a purposive sampling of 415 supervisor–subordinate dyads in 14 manufacturing and service companies in eastern China. The study hypotheses are tested using SPSS Process Macro. Findings The key findings show that a hostile attributional style plays a completely mediating role. Mutual recognition respect and an overwork climate mitigate the relationship between perceived overqualification and a hostile attributional style rather than between a hostile attributional style and feedback-seeking behavior. Practical implications Based on the findings, we further discuss theoretical and managerial implications and we provide policy suggestions for organizations. The research ends by highlighting its key limitations and directions for future research. Originality/value We adopt the perspective of resource conservation to explain why overqualified employees do not seek feedback through behavioral motivations of resource surplus. As a different attempt, this innovative approach adds further value to the feedback literature by exploring the nodes where mutual recognition respect and overwork play roles.