The Influence of Education on Subjective Underemployment: Research on Multinational Corporations in Romania

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate what effects demographics, in general, and education, in particular (independent variables x), had on the subjective underemployment (dependent variable y) of corporate employees in Romania. A Likert Scale survey questionnaire was administered to 110 employees of multinational businesses operating in Romania during February and May 2018, asking respondents to assess to what extent they felt they were underemployed. Answers were then correlated with the demographic regressors. Perceptions of underemployment were influenced by education (p = 0.006), though not by other variables such as age or marital status. Results invalidate the Null Hypothesis and reveal that subjective underemployment is being manifested on the Romanian corporate labour market, touching base with previous researches in the area, showing that the higher the level education, the greater the chances of perceived underemployment to occur. At the same time, the research addresses ways to combat underemployment, such as increasing self-esteem levels, re-designing the educational system or life-long learning.