PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY 2009, 62, 89–134
HOW BROADLY DOES EDUCATION CONTRIBUTE TO JOB PERFORMANCE?
THOMAS W. H. NG University of Hong Kong DANIEL C. FELDMAN University of Georgia
This study looks at the effects of education level on job performance in 2 ways. First, it provides a meta-analysis on the relationships between education level and 9 dimensions of job behaviors representing task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance. Results here show that, in addition to positively influencing core task performance, education level is also positively related to creativity and citizenship behaviors and negatively related to on-the-job substance use and absenteeism. Second, we investigate the moderating effects of sample and research design characteristics on the relationships between education and job performance. Significant results were found for gender, race, job level, and job complexity. The article concludes with implications for future research and the management of an increasingly educated workforce.
According to U. S. National Center for Education Statistics, the pro- portion of Americans attaining more education continues to increase. For example, the percentage of individuals completing high school increased from 69% in 1980 to 86% in 2006; the percentage of individuals (aged 25 and older) who have completed college increased from 17% in 1980 to 28% in 2006. In both the labor economics and organizational sciences literatures, there is substantial evidence that individuals’ educational at- tainments are associated with positive career outcomes, including salary level, number of promotions, development opportunities, and job mobil- ity (Cappelli, 2000; Howard, 1986; Lazear, 1981; Ng, Eby, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005). Because most organizations use education as an indicator of a per- son’s skill levels or productivity (Benson, Finegold, & Mohrman, 2004), they frequently employ it as a prerequisite in hiring decisions. However, over the past 2 decades, there has been very little research directly ex- amining the relationship between educational level and job performance. This is particularly surprising given that it was during this time period
Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Thomas Ng, 7/F Meng Wah Complex, School of Business, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; [email protected].