Highly Educated Black Americans Report Higher than Expected Perceived Job Demands.

Abstract

Educational attainment has well established and widely recognized the effects on employment conditions and job demands. However, the way in which educational attainment correlates with perceived job demands may be inconsistent across racial groups as suggested by Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). The aim was to test the moderating effect of race on the association between educational attainment and perceived job demands, particularly for Black and White individuals. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of MIDUS Refresher 1, including 1,232 Black and White adults over the age of 25 in the United States. Education attainment was the independent variable and perceived job demands was the dependent variable covariates. Linear regression was used for multivariate models. We observed positive association between education and perceived job demands, however, statistical interaction between race and education suggested stronger positive associations for Black than White individuals. Being a highly educated Black professional in the United States equals high demand such increase stress is a risk factor of being a middle class black American. Innovated and bold market policies are required to solve this unfair dilemma.