Skill mismatch and work–life conflict: the mediating role of job satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Previous research examining skill mismatch in the labour market has ignored potential implications for workers outside of the work environment. We argue that the psychological strain that the discrepancy between worker’s skills and job requirements wields on workers spills over into the non-work sphere, increasing work–life conflict. This study explores the consequence of skill mismatch for work–family life and various dimensions of job satisfaction. Using the 2011 British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS), we find that both over- and underskilled workers reported lower satisfaction with achievement and autonomy, opportunity for development, and pay and security. Results also suggest that not only does skill mismatch have a negative influence on work–life conflict but that this association is completely mediated through job satisfaction. Given this better understanding of the complex ways that skill mismatch in employment shapes non-work life, implications for employees and firms are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Skill mismatch
• overskilling
• underskilling
• job satisfaction
• work-life conflict

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Notes

1. The findings for underskilling specifically are mixed. Generally, due to data constraints, research on underskilling (compared to overskilling) is rare and not as robust across different datasets, measurements, and countries. Few studies reported a positive effect of underskilling on job satisfaction. Two papers that utilized the data of the Flexible Professional in the Knowledge Society (REFLEX) project found negative effects of overskilling on satisfaction but also revealed a higher probability of job satisfaction among the underskilled as compared to well-matched workers (McGuinness and Sloane 2011; Sánchez-Sánchez and McGuinness 2015). However, the way the skill mismatch variables were constructed differs from our construction. A paper by Allen and De Weert (2007) based on the data from Careers after Higher Education: A European Research Study (CHEERS) reported similar results for the UK, Netherlands, and Spain but not for Germany and Japan.

2. Models that include all control variables are included in the Appendix.

3. With cross-sectional data, there is the possibility of endogeneity/reverse causation not being captured in the analytic model. We have argued conceptually that causation runs from skills mismatch to satisfaction/work-life conflict but without panel data we cannot unequivocally assert that there are no other possible causal linkages (to include reciprocal and mutually reinforcing causation) within the data.

Additional information

Funding

Support from the Basic Research Program of the National Research University Higher School of Economics to the first and second authors is gratefully acknowledged.

Notes on contributors

Andrey Shevchuk

Andrey Shevchuk is an Associate Professor and a Senior Research Fellow at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University). He received his PhD in Economics from the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He received his Master’s degree in Sociology from Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences. He has conducted original research on internet-based freelancers to better understand the changing landscape of employment. His interests include sociology, economics, and labor studies.

Denis Strebkov

Denis Strebkov is an Associate Professor and a Senior Research Fellow at at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University). He received his PhD in Sociology from State University – Higher School of Economics, Moscow. He received his Master’s degree in Sociology from Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences. His research focuses on economic decision making within the Russian context. His interests include sociology, economics, and labor studies.

Shannon N. Davis

Shannon N. Davis is  Professor of Sociology at George Mason University. She received her PhD in Sociology from North Carolina State University, where she also received a Master’s degree in Sociology. Her research focuses on how family members negotiate the intersection of paid and unpaid work in their daily lives, how gender inequality is reproduced in families, and on the construction and maintenance of gender ideologies. She also examines the reproduction of racial and gender inequalities in higher education with a focus on undergraduate research as a mechanism for alleviating inequality.