Educational job mismatch, job satisfaction, on-the-job training, and employee quit behaviour: a dynamic analytical approach

This paper extends the literature on the consequences of over-education, in particular quit outcomes. It is the first study that explicitly tests the impact of job satisfaction and on-the-job training for workers in educational mismatched jobs and on quit behaviour using a longitudinal data set. Accounting for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity, the dynamic analytical framework examines labour market outcomes for job-mismatched workers. We find that over-education alone, or accompanied by skill under-utilization in combination with lower job satisfaction, increases the incidences of job quitting. Opportunities for training facilitate the retention of initially job-mismatched workers. These results have implications for interpreting mismatch data, retention, and resource allocation.

Automated summary

This study expands the existing literature on over-education by examining the consequences of job mismatch on job quitting. It is the first study to explicitly test the impact of job satisfaction and on-the-job training on quit behavior using longitudinal data. The results suggest that over-education, especially when accompanied by low job satisfaction and under-utilization of skills, increases the likelihood of job quitting. However, providing training opportunities can help retain initially mismatched workers. These findings have implications for understanding mismatch data, retention strategies, and resource allocation.