Career Plateau | Meaning, Causes and Strategies

What is a Career Plateau?

A career plateau is described as a time in a professional’s career path when the probability of a vertical promotion is low and the nature of the work kind and quality becomes monotonous.

Consider a situation in which an employee reaches the top level inside the organisation and is thereafter unable to advance vertically. In simple words, people who feel that their present is stagnant and that their future is uncertain are considered to be plateauing. The indicator of a career plateau includes feeling stuck in a job or position, continuously bored, and dissatisfied with the job. An employee experiences a professional plateau when his duties and work become too monotonous. The employee’s job becomes stagnant as a result of the same and repeated tasks and obligations. The hierarchy of the organisation reduces the chance of employees moving up the corporate ranks after a certain point unless a top-level post becomes available and the candidate’s abilities and feedback are a fit. This is how organisations are structured. Simply put, a career plateau is the feeling of being stuck in your current position with no room for advancement.

The number of positions decreases with each degree of organisational hierarchy. Therefore, upward mobility becomes challenging when positions are not open or when there are more candidates for one position. To prevent feelings of stagnation among employees when they feel trapped and stuck in such situations, the Human Resource function of the organisation is responsible for offering possibilities for lateral movement. The existing position needs to be given more purpose and engagement, and in the absence of advancements, personnel needs to be rewarded in other ways. The career plateau can be overcome by offering various training programs and opportunities for acquiring either general abilities or specialised technical skills.

Example of Career Plateau

Suppose a worker has ten years of experience in the sales department of an automobile company. He was promoted consistently after joining and had good performance for the first four to five years. The employee has been in the same role with the same responsibilities and KPIs for the past five years and has been unable to advance in his career. Because of this, the employee feels that his or her career is stagnating. According to the concept’s understanding, this point can be considered to be a career plateau. To overcome/manage it, the employee begins marketing-related training as a means of redress and upgrading skills by getting industry-recognised certifications in the marketing and automobile fields.

Causes of Career Plateau

The causes for a professional plateau are specific to each person’s situation. These causes can be broadly divided into two groups: internal and external causes.

1. Internal Factors: These may include a lack of trust in an employee’s professional abilities or, conversely, an excessive amount of confidence. Lack of interest in and feeling challenged by the work may be another internal factor causing career stagnation. If it applies to the personnel of an organisation, it should plan for development training that will help the employees advance and overcome stagnation.

2. External Factors: These include the type of company, size, and level of seniority. Career paths to senior management are much less challenging in privately owned or family-run enterprises than they are in large multinational corporations. In these businesses, top management usually remains in place for decades with little to no turnover.

3. Other Factors:

• Repetitive Labour and Responsibilities: Repeating the same work can lead to boredom and a lack of motivation. This can cause your career to stagnate.
• Lack of Lateral Mobility Opportunities: Employees may feel stuck in their existing roles and unable to advance in their careers if there are no opportunities for growth.
• Lack of Training and Development: Employees can not advance in their jobs without access to training and development opportunities.
• Reaching the Top of the Present Role’s Hierarchy: If there is no further possibility for growth when an employee reaches the highest point of their current position, their career may plateau.

How to Manage Career Plateau?

To overcome career plateaus the cooperation of both employers and employees is required. Employers must offer them opportunities for growth and development to help employees advance in their professions and avoid making them feel stagnant in their positions. Employers can provide the following to help workers avoid career stagnation and continue to grow:

1. Upgrade/Reskill: This is one of the most effective ways to break up monotonous jobs and switch to a different, more useful line of work both inside and outside the company. It includes learning emerging fields and market trends while doing the same or a different job role that can help to reskill and acquire better positions, which may be beneficial in the long run.

2. Job Creation: An employee may consider carrying on additional tasks with the management and learn new skills that will make them more valuable to the company altogether. This helps in the person’s overall development and role preparation for the future. This provides more industry-relevant and role-specific experience and capabilities.

3. Job Rotation: A person may discover new opportunities and break through a plateau by switching from one department to another. The same thing can happen if your place of work or job within the same organisation changes.

Employees are responsible for providing opportunities to move past professional plateaus. By looking for training and development opportunities, getting further education or training, networking with professionals in the field, and discussing their career objectives with their employer, they can actively participate in their career growth. Employees can overcome feelings of stagnation and continue to grow and advance in their professions by adopting proactive measures to improve their abilities, acquire new experiences, and raise their earning potential. Employees can take the following actions to overcome past professional plateaus:

1. Participate Actively in Career Development: The employees can seek out training and development opportunities and accept new tasks and responsibilities for their career advancement.

2. Gain further Education or Training: The employees can strengthen their knowledge and skills by getting further education or training.

3. Connect with other Professionals in the Field: Networking can help employees stay up to date on industry developments and open up new career opportunities.

4. Communicate your Career Goals: The employer should be well informed of their career intention to get support in achieving those goals.

5. Explore Possibilities within the Company: The employees should look for opportunities for growth and promotion to continuously improve their abilities, acquire new experiences, and raise their earning potential.