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CAREER PLATEAU AND DEALING STRATEGIES
Article in International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences · February 2019
DOI: 10.6084/m9.doi.one.IJRAR19YP029
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CAREER PLATEAU AND DEALING
STRATEGIES
A.R.ShakilaDevi#1, Dr.S.Rabiyathul Basariya#2
#1
Research Scholar, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, shakilasuraj@yahoo.com
#2
Associate Professor,Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Srabiyathulbasariya@gmail.com
Abstract:
Career plateauing has received little attention in the literature of late, even when employees
are retaining their positions longer with little likelihood for advancement or increased job responsibilities.
The purpose of this paper is to explain Career Plateauing and effective strategies to deal with it.
Keywords:
Career plateauing, Plateau strategies
I.
Introduction
Stagnation refers to the state or condition of being stagnant or cessation of movement or growth in ones
profession or career. I t is a point of a career where the likelihood of additional hierarchical
promotion is very low. Employees, especially those who continue to work in the same organization for a
long time and those who belong to the core of an organization, often reach career plateaus. To people
working in human resources jobs, they present a special class of challenge that is hard to tackle without
active cooperation from the affected person. However, more often than not, an employee stuck on a career
plateau refuses to recognize that he or she has been trapped by a career barrier and will refuse help at its
very mention.
By definition, a career plateau is a point in the career of an employee where the possibility of vertical
promotion within the official hierarchy becomes very low or absent altogether. When faced with someone
on a career plateau, the human resources professional must determine the opportunities for lateral growth
that exist for the concerned employee. Then, he or she needs to select and present acceptable options to
keep the trapped employee engaged and on the move. When dealing with plateaued employees, human
resource staff have to follow the following three principal tasks
II. Objective
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To define career plateau
To discuss strategies to avoid career plateau
I I I . Literature Review
Personal plateauing refers to lacking the ability or the desire to move to a higher-level position. These
employees may lack professional or technical skills. Others may even reject promotion because they feel
bored with their current job even though they have the competence and ability to perform well (Ference et
al., 1977).
There are multiple dimensions of plateauing, including organizational plateau, personal plateau, hierarchical
plateauing, job content plateauing, and life plateauing (Bardwick, 1986).
Job content plateauing refers to the lack of challenges, decrease in responsibilities and overall staleness of
the job itself. While life plateauing describes an individual’s feeling of being trapped or stuck in their roles
outside of work (Allen, Russell, Poteet, & Dobbins, 1999)
As people cannot advance quickly in their job, and employment is no longer life-long career because of the
modern perception of employment issues, employees want their companies to provide them with the
necessary skills to ensure their employability and marketability in the future (Andamson, Doherty & Viney,
1998),
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IV.
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Categories of Career plateau
Career plateau can be classified as position plateau and contribution plateau position plateau occurs when
here is limited or no upward movement within the organisation possibly due to lack of opportunities within
the organisation, whereas contribution plateau occurs when there is stagnation in one’s skills and abilities.
It is believed that position plateau can happen to
every employee and does not necessarily mean absence of skills.
Contribution plateau occurs to specific individuals only and is incompetent due to lack of
skills. An employee can be personally plateaued or organizationally plateaued.
An organizationally plateaued worker is an employee who has the ability to perform effectively in a
higher-level position, but a lack of job openings may prevent hi/her promotion. Career plateau results
because the number of positions available decreases as one
moves forward hierarchically in the organisation.
In contrast a personally plateaued worker is viewed by the organisation as either lacking the ability or the
desire to move into a higher-level position. A lack of technical skill or career skill may lead to an
individual’s lack of promotional opportunity.
V.
Sources of career plateau
Career plateau can be both subjective and objective. The subjective aspects are linked to self- perception.
When people perceive that they have reached a plateau, their careers are sometimes so affected that their
conviction becomes self-fulfilling.
At the same time, employees who might appear to others to be plateauing are not necessarily unhappy or
inferior. In fact, human resource management research has long recognised that leveling off periods are
healthy and productive in an adult’s development. In other words, the so-called plateau could represent a
period of stability where employees master work skills, pursue special family or personal interests and
improve functional professional and personal
skills so that they can contribute more to their organisations.
Unfortunately, if they are not handled properly career plateaus can be damaging to the employee as
well as to the organisation.
VI.
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VII.
Signs of Career Stagnation
Role becomes marginalised
Career stops growing
Missing from the big picture in the organisation
Continuous improvement is not part of the mantra
Level influence is waning
Top career mistakes
By ineffectively managing the career, one can easily find in the role of career plateau. Following are
the common mistakes of employees that are making to enter the career plateau.
 Randomly pursuing jobs
 Ineffective networking
 Sacrificing work life balance
 Allowing the opportunities pipeline to run dry
 Not investing in professional development
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VIII. Strategies for the employee to overcome Career plateau
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IX.
Evaluate the current job
Talk with supervisor
Take a vacation to rejuvenate one self
Get organised
Take up a course of motivation
Participate in a new outside activity
Build a strong contact network
Market yourself
Polish your interviewing and negotiating skills
Make your goals specific and review them frequently
Preventing Stagnated employee from ineffective performance
This involves convincing the employee that stagnation doesn't necessarily mean failure and then
directing him or her toward any avenue for personal development and growth that exists.
1. Integrating all relevant career-related information so that problems can be
anticipated and treated as early as possible. To carry out this function, a thorough and
effective performance appraisal system is necessary.
2.
Managing frustrated employees and others who have become ineffective through
stagnation. Open communication between the stagnating employee and people in human
resources jobs is essential to this function.
X. Five Effective Strategies for Dealing with Career Plateaued employees
This critical issue needs to be handled carefully by human resources professionals. Stagnating
employees often refuse to budge and allow themselves to be overtaken by frustration. The immediate
absence of opportunities for vertical advancement also prevents human resources professionals from
instilling encouragement. Five simple strategies for dealing with the situation are:
1. Provide alternative means of recognition. The stagnating employee can be given special
assignments and tasks of special importance, like training new employees, representing the
organization to others, or participating in brainstorming sessions.
2. Develop ways to make current jobs more satisfying. This can be attained by creating
competition on the job and personal rewards.
3. Revitalize through reassignment. Systematically switch the stagnating employee to different
positions at the same level that can be handled given his or her core skill set.
4. Use self-development programs. Instead of preparing employees who have reached career
plateaus for future jobs, prepare them to perform their present jobs better.
5. Change managerial attitudes. Managers and human resources professionals should never
give up and start neglecting the stagnating employee.
XI. Conclusion
Possible strategies to get rid of Career Plateau are given below:
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Employee should start taking responsibility for growth, and avoid placing hopes in an organizationprovided solution.
Constantly work to broaden the skill set; seek to enhance rather than advance.
Talk with people who are already in the job roles you desire and ask for suggestions on how to
proceed to their level.
Set realistic short-term goals that will move you toward your ultimate goal.
At the same time, while continuing in the same organization:
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Always keep in mind that while your performance at your job is important, you have reached the
phase where interpersonal performance is critical.
Align your behavior, rights, and values with the company's values, goals, and objectives.
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
Do not provide problems. Offer positive solutions, and take time to think through issues before
offering suggestions.
 Be a team player, and put the spotlight on the group's efforts.
 Approach everything you do with a positive attitude, and be sure that each thing you do makes a
difference, regardless of appreciation.
References:
1. Allen, T.D., Russell, J.E.A., Poteet, M.L., & Dobbins, G.H. (1999). Learning and development
factors related to perceptions of job content and hierarchical plateauing. Journal of Organizational
Behavior, 20, 1113 – 1137.
2. Bardwick, J. M., (1986). The plateauing trap: Career development in the plateaued organization.
Career Development International, 11-20.
3. Ference, T. P., Stoner, J. A., & Warren, E. K. (1977). Managing the career plateau.
4. Academy of Mana£fement Review, 2, 602-612.
5. Hit a Career Plateau? Four Tips for Moving Up www.careerjournal.com/myc/climbing/20050621loeb.html
6. Patrick Chang Boon Lee, (2003) "Going beyond career plateau: Using professional
plateau to account for work outcomes", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22 Issue: 6,
pp.538 -551,
7. Veronica M. Godshalk, C. Melissa Fender, External and Internal Reasons for Career
Plateauing Relationships With Work Outcomes Volume: 40 issue: 4, page(s): 529-559
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