Horizontal Education-Job Mismatch in a Medium-Sized Japanese Company

Although the existence and negative effects of education-job mismatch in the labor market are widely known and accepted, literature on this topic in the Japanese labor market is lacking owing to unique labor market specifics and data limitations, despite the importance of the issue. This study examines the effects of horizontal education-job mismatch on organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and future career vision among employees from a medium-sized company in Japan using longitudinal personnel microdata and employee satisfaction survey data. The empirical results of this study show that horizontal education-job mismatch in a medium-sized Japanese company has a negative impact on employees’ psychological adjustment, even after controlling for individual-specific effects. The findings suggest that horizontal education-job mismatch has the potential for substantial economic, organizational, and individual costs, which is consistent with previous research in various global contexts.