A Committed Journey Towards Your Career: the Mediating Effect of Perceived External Employability

Abstract

Career plateau has been a major concern for many seasoned employees because they often stay in the same position longer than expected and lack job challenges over time. This phenomenon is now considered a normal career development stage in life. The purpose of this study is to test the effects of career plateau (hierarchical and job content) on career commitment, along with the mediating effect of perceived external employability. We test the hypotheses with survey data collected from a convenience sample of 472 white-collar employees who had full-time jobs and were enrolled as Executive MBA and continuing education students in five large universities in Taiwan (77% return rate). Based on structural equation modeling analysis, the results showed that both hierarchical and job content plateau had significant negative effects on career commitment. Also, perceived external employability partially mediated the negative relationship between hierarchical and job-content plateau and career commitment. The findings of this study provide insight for career management scholars and practitioners by promoting a better understanding of suitable career management practices for more ‘seasoned’ employees who are valued for their knowledge, experience and expertise. Drawing from career motivation theory, we fill the gap of testing the mediating effect of perceived external employability to link hierarchical and job content career plateau to career commitment as career-related outcomes.