The double-edged sword effect of perceived underemployment on the career satisfaction of new employment form workers

Introduction As an important component of the modern economy, the career satisfaction of new employment form workers directly impacts individual work efficiency, corporate sustainability. While prior studies have focused on high-quality employment and rights protection for these workers, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms and contextual factors from the perspective of perceived underemployment. Grounded in career construction theory and conservation of resource theory, this study develops a moderated double mediation effect model. It examines the double-edged sword effect of perceived underemployment on career satisfaction through the dual-path “gain-loss spiral,” as well as the bidirectional moderating role of future work self-clarity in shaping this dual effect. Methods This study constructed a moderated mediation effect model and collected primary data through a combination of online and offline questionnaire surveys. A total of 450 questionnaires were distributed, 390 were returned, and invalid questionnaires were excluded, resulting in 323 valid questionnaires with a response rate of 82.82%. AMOA, SPSS and PROCESS tools were used to analyze the data and validate the model and hypotheses. Results The results indicate: (1) Perceived underemployment negatively impacts career satisfaction through the career transition pathway, while positively impacting career satisfaction through the resource orchestration pathway, demonstrating a double-edged sword effect; (2) Future work self-clarity positively mediates the resource orchestration pathway and negatively mediates the career transition pathway. Discussion This study views “perceived underemployment” as a professional context that new employment forms workers must adapt to. Their adaptive responses manifest through two distinct pathways: proactive career construction through resource orchestration and defensive career restructuring through career transition. This framework aligns with career construction theory, which emphasizes how individuals leverage adaptability to navigate career challenges, while also resonating with conservation of resources theory, which highlights the pursuit of resource gains and the avoidance of resource depletion. By revealing that perceived underemployment can simultaneously trigger both gain- and loss-related mechanisms, this research transcends the conventional view of underemployment, thereby illuminating its dual-edged sword effect. Furthermore, the study identifies future work self-salience as a positive boundary condition, offering valuable insights for future interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive and behavioral outcomes among new employment form workers. Subsequent research should employ experimental and longitudinal designs to further elucidate the mechanisms through which perceived underemployment influences career development in this population.