Career adaptability and plateaus: The moderating effects of tenure and job self-efficacy

Abstract

This research examined the relationship between career adaptability and the job content plateau, focusing on the moderating roles of job tenure and job self-efficacy. In Study 1, a scenario-based experiment was conducted among working adults to test whether job tenure moderated the effect of career adaptability on the job content plateau. Results showed that this effect was stronger among employees with a long rather than short tenure. Study 2 verified this result based on data collected from another sample of workers using a field survey. Additionally, results from Study 2 demonstrated that the moderating role of job tenure was stronger for employees with low rather than high job self-efficacy. It was found that the relationship between career adaptability and the job content plateau was strongest when employees reported a long tenure and a low level of job self-efficacy. These findings have provided useful insights for organizational managers to plan and implement employee development strategies, and for career counselors to design psychological interventions, taking into account the conditions that will make career adaptability most effective to deal with job-related experiences (e.g., the job content plateau).