Exploration of the Conceptualization and Measurement of Career Plateau: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Data from 1,755 managers were used to compare a perceptually based operationalization of career plateau with the traditional measure based on job tenure. Results for four outcome measures (intrinsic job satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction, organizational identification, and career planning) showed the perceptually based measure of career plateaus to account for significantly more variance than the job tenure-based measure. Controlling for age, hierarchical regression analyses for the managerial sample also supported job tenure as a moderator of the relationship between a perceived career plateau and three of the four hypothesized outcomes. Specifically, the negative effects of a career plateau were most pronounced when the plateau was perceived during the early years of an individual's job tenure. Results are discussed with regard to the perception, adjustment, and consequences of career plateaus.