A meta-analytic study of subjective career plateaus

Abstract

We reviewed and synthesized the existing empirical research on correlates of two types of subjective career plateau (SCP): (1) hierarchical plateau (HP) and (2) job content plateau (JCP). Based on 126 independent samples, we found positive relationships between potential antecedents (career adaptability, person-environment fit, psychological capital, and workplace support) and SCPs, as well as relationships between SCPs and a variety of work outcomes. Specifically, SCPs were positively associated with counterproductive work behavior, job insecurity, psychological distress and turnover intentions but negatively associated with career satisfaction, extra-role performance, in-role performance, job involvement, job satisfaction, mentoring support of one's protégés, organizational commitment, and work engagement. SCPs were also related to other covariates, including age, gender, job tenure, race, and role ambiguity. Effect sizes were generally smaller for HP than for JCP, except for job insecurity and psychological distress. Finally, the scale used to measure SCP moderated some of these relationships. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.