Voluntary overqualification enables job adaptation and need targets: the mediating role of job crafting

Purpose In recent years, voluntary overqualification – where individuals intentionally choose positions below their skill level despite having matching job opportunities – has become increasingly prevalent. While this phenomenon addresses specific personal needs, existing research offers limited insights into how such employees adapt to their roles and fulfill their needs within organizations. Grounded in the job demands-resources model, this study aims to examine how voluntarily overqualified employees achieve job adaptation and need fulfillment through job crafting. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a longitudinal design, collecting data through surveys administered at two time points. A total of 555 employees from various industries in China participated. Regression analyses and heterogeneity tests were conducted using SPSS 26.0 and MPLUS 8.4 to evaluate the research hypotheses and examine variations by company type. Findings The results show that voluntary overqualification (e.g. life-oriented, earnings-oriented and meaning-oriented) positively affects subjective well-being, subjective career success (SCS) and professional identity, respectively. The above relationships are respectively mediated by the job crafting of decreasing hindering job demands, increasing job resources and increasing challenging job demands. Relational energy strengthens the positive correlation between voluntary overqualification and job crafting, and further has an indirect impact on subjective well-being, SCS and professional identity. Heterogeneity analysis shows that while both state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises provide majority support for these findings, state-owned enterprises exhibit stronger direct effects, whereas non-state-owned enterprises demonstrate more significant mediating effects of job crafting and moderating effects of relational energy. Originality/value This study distinguishes between voluntary and involuntary overqualification, exploring how voluntarily overqualified employees with different orientations adapt and fulfill their needs through tailored job crafting. The findings provide valuable insights for understanding and managing this unique workforce segment.