资质未充分利用与职业倦怠：中国公共部门员工的分配公平评价与心理资本

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Organizational Psychology

• 1. Northeastern University, Shenyang, China

• 2. Shenyang University, Shenyang, China

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Cynicism, Emotional exhaustion, Employee well-being, less favorable distributive-justice appraisal, perceived overqualification, Psychological Capital

Received

08 July 2026

Accepted

30 September 2026

Copyright

© 2026 Cui, Sun and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence:

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