Career plateaus can come from a lack of promotion opportunities or a lack of success when pursuing promotion opportunities. These plateaus can be frustrating and extremely stressful, especially when workers feel like they have no control over the situation. However, recent research is showing a growing body of workers who prefer plateaus over promotions – they are content to stay in their current position rather than pursue promotion opportunities. These personal plateaus can lead to greater feelings of well-being and authenticity for employees. In this study (Farivar et al., 2024), researchers investigated the unique motivators affecting career plateaus.
THE RESEARCH STUDY
The researchers interviewed 75 law enforcement officers. They asked the officers about their experiences with career plateaus and willingness to pursue promotion opportunities. Overall, the researchers found that organizational and personal plateaus were driven by unique sets of motivators.
Those who experienced organizational plateaus reported negative workplace politics, gender discrimination, and general disillusionment with the organization as reasons why they were not pursuing promotion opportunities. This group also reported lower levels of self-efficacy (the belief they can succeed), contributing to the general feeling of being stuck.
Those experiencing personal plateaus attributed this to a lack of desirable outcomes. When asked to imagine the outcomes of promotions, they reported that a promotion would come with increased work-life conflict, increased job demands, and increased negative workplace politics. To this group, the benefits of a promotion were outweighed by the detriments.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
With a deeper understanding of career plateaus, organizations can more effectively help their employees in their unique career progressions. Following this research, organizations may consider doing the following:
- Establish equitable promotional systems. This includes making promotion processes transparent so that stakeholders understand how decisions are made.
- Ensure that promotions come with desirable benefits and highlight these well. This can help employees view promotions as desirable opportunities, rather than just potential challenges or drains.
- Treat employees as individuals regarding their career goals – not every employee wants to pursue a promotion. This can help each employee achieve meaning, purpose, and happiness.
Farivar, F., Anthony, M., Richardson, J., & Amarnani, R. (2024). More to life than promotion: Self-initiated and self-resigned career plateaus. Human Resource Management Journal, 34, 1022-1041.
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