Overqualification has been documented to affect immigrant workers, which poses implications for their job attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of this multi-method investigation was first to understand how specific factors related to immigrants’ working experiences (e.g., language skills) relate to their experiences of perceived overqualification and contribute to the manifestation of relative deprivation. Additionally, this work examines two variables that may further inform knowledge of immigrants’ experiences of perceived overqualification and relative deprivation: acculturation and job gratitude. Results of 13 semi-structured interviews gathered from immigrant workers in the U.S. who identified as overqualified for their current work role provided preliminary qualitative evidence of several themes relevant to their overqualification experiences (e.g., foreign credential recognition, discrimination, starting from the bottom). Although support was not found for the proposed moderating roles of acculturation and job gratitude, results of a two time-point survey study of immigrant workers in the U.S. suggested that relative deprivation mediates the relationship between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction. This contributes additional evidence in support of relative deprivation theory. Exploratory analyses also identified distal outcomes of relative deprivation (e.g., turnover intentions). Findings of this work not only contribute additional insights into how perceived overqualification and relative deprivation impact an understudied population, but can also be used to inform strategies to reduce the negative effects.
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