📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

If You Think You're Overqualified for Your Job, It Could Ruin Your Career Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

By Nina Zipkin

entrepreneur daily
Shutterstock

If you feel like you're starting to outgrow your current position, you may want to watch your behavior carefully.

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University's College of Business found that people who think that they are overqualified for their job often feel unsatisfied with their work and place within their organization. This leads to a mental frustration, which in turn, kind of makes them act like a jerk.

Related: A Dozen Ways You Don't Realize You Are Making a Bad Impression at Work

"We invest effort at work and we expect rewards in return, such as esteem and career opportunities. And for an overqualified employee, that expectation has been violated," FAU management professor Michael Harari explained in a summary of the findings. "This is a stressful experience for employees, which leads to poor psychological wellbeing, such as negative emotions and psychological strain."

If you are feeling stressed and underappreciated, it's more likely that you're going to act out and treat others around you poorly.

Related: 7 Types of Jerks Found in Every Office

The researchers found that workers who think they are overqualified "engage in deviant behaviors" such as cutting out early, arriving late, bullying and even theft. Basically, if there are ways to make things function less effectively around the office, those who think that they are overqualified may very well do those things.

Now, not everyone who thinks that they need to level up will behave this way. The researchers noted that those workers who were on the younger side, highly educated and narcissistic were the ones that "reported higher levels of perceived overqualification."

Just remember: If you're feeling stuck, think about what you need to do you achieve your goals. Don't take it out on everyone else.

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Career

This 'Cutting-Edge' Strategy Used By Meta and Google Is Helping Leaders Keep Young Employees Motivated

Archer Chiang, founder and CEO of Giftpack, breaks down the method that can improve results and retention.

Growing a Business

AI Marketing Is Flooding Social Media. Here's How to Make Sure You Don't Get Lost in the Robotic Noise.

Content overload from AI is the new normal. Marketing guru Mari Smithen shares strategies for navigating the AI revolution and getting your messaging across.

Franchise

After Decades of Hard Work, This Couple Is Living the Entrepreneurial Dream. Here's How They Achieved Generational Wealth.

Nadine and James Middleton's journey shows what can happen when hard-working people are matched with the right franchise.

Business Ideas

How This One Customer Service Hack Can Transform Your Business

Instead of examining all the options and offerings to add, consider what you should remove, redesign, and eliminate.