Underused capability and burnout: distributive-justice appraisal and psychological capital among Chinese public-sector employees
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Zhe Cui1, Chenxi Sun2, Xinan Zhao1
1School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
Background:
Occupational burnout may co-occur with employees' appraisal that their capability is underused and their contributions insufficiently recognized.
Methods:
Guided primarily by conservation of resources theory and social exchange theory, and situated within the broader Job Demands-Resources framework, this study analyzed a two-section survey of 415 employees from 21 Chinese public-sector organizations. Psychological capital (PsyCap) was assessed in the first section; perceived overqualification (POQ), less favorable distributive-justice appraisal (LF-DJA), and burnout were assessed together in the later section. A latent-variable structural equation model examined the core associations, with complementary interaction regressions and sensitivity analyses.
Results:
POQ showed positive total and LF-DJA-related indirect associations with emotional exhaustion and cynicism, but its residual direct associations were not statistically distinguishable from zero. Low professional efficacy (LPE) showed a different exploratory pattern. PsyCap most consistently conditioned the POQ-LF-DJA association. LF-DJA-related moderation depended on outcome and specification; conditional indirect associations were not supported in the model containing both outcome interaction terms. Procedure and occupational-context adjustment produced similar focal coefficients.
Contribution:
The findings distinguish capability-role appraisal, distributive-justice appraisal, and personal resources in an employee well-being account.
Limitations:
The contemporaneous assessment of POQ, LF-DJA, and burnout precludes temporal or causal conclusions; multiplicity and limited precision qualify weaker findings.
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