The purpose of this research was to determine how organizational trust and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between perceived qualifications and innovative behavior. Face theory and self-evaluation were applied when analyzing data collected from university professors. Three hundred and fifty individuals participated in the study; responses were randomly selected from the primary dataset. Upon conducting SPSS’s multiple regression and correlation analyses on the data, it was determined that a significant relationship existed between the variables. According to the findings, perceived over-qualifications favorably impact innovative behavior, with organizational trust and self-efficacy acting as mediators. Perhaps these findings will contribute to our comprehension of employee emotions regarding their overqualification for positions, the mechanisms underlying organizational trust, strategies for encouraging creativity in the workplace, and considerations for employee mental well-being. Such insights will ultimately contribute to improving the work environment and the sustained prosperity of the organization.