Career Plateau Definition
When an employee rises to one of the highest positions in a company, and there is little or no chance that s/he will move upward from there– that’s a career plateau. The low probability for further rise owes to a lack of skills, corporate reorganization, and so on.
A Career Plateau refers to a point in one’s career where they feel that they’ve reached a high level of maximum personal growth and lateral movement.
For most people, reaching a level of professional stability is an ordinary part of career development. Hitting up against or skirting the edge around such a point can be disheartening and demotivating at work.
Let’s dive in and understand more about a career plateau.
Here, we will discover:
Understanding Career Plateau Meaning
Career plateau is a situation where an employee has reached the highest position level in the company and there’s little possibility to be built upon it.
Employee skills, corporate restructuring and so on lead to poor prospects for further promotion.
In a career plateau, the position of the employee becomes stagnant as he or she performs the same things day after day.
Types of Career Plateau
Reasons like excessive pressure or monotony lead many employees to experience disengagement or unproductive at work. These are the major reasons why most employees search for career development opportunities that are meaningful and engaging to help break through these barriers.
All that said, career plateaus can be divided into three categories:
1. The Vertical Plateau
After reaching the highest level for your current position, an employee may feel there is nowhere else to go. The vertical plateau.
2. The Horizontal Plateau
This happens when an employee is no longer learning or growing in their current position, So he may be said to have hit a plateau of career development.
3. The Stagnant Plateau
In some cases, employees experience little or no growth, which constitutes a stagnation plateau.
Causes of Career Plateau
Now that you know different types of career plateaus, learn the most common reasons why they actually happen in companies:
Repetitive Duties and Responsibilities:
Doing the same tasks repeatedly will make people feel bored and spiritless, and will hold up their own progress at work as well. This means that you will have reached a career plateau.
Lack of Professional Growth:
When the present job provides no hope of promotion, workers may feel trapped and unable to make a career move.
Lack of Training:
No training and development opportunities without work may not allow employees to line up the necessary skills or knowledge and be their best selves along the way.
Reaching the Highest Level:
When an employee has reached the highest level in their present job, there is no prospect of going further.
Internal Factors:
In some cases, it may be because of internal factors. Burnout is one of the common factors that lead to a career plateau. Micromanagement or no work-life balance are some other reasons why employees feel disconnected and disengaged from their roles.
How to Overcome a Career Plateau?
In overcoming career barriers, both staff and employers are essential.
If employees feel that they have reached a plateau in their careers, their employer should give them opportunities to advance their professional knowledge and skills.
Both companies and employees can thus benefit from research showing that there is a direct correlation between people feeling stagnation in their work and not achieving the maximum possible level of performance.
Employers can give these conditions for workers to escape mediocrity and keep expanding their horizons by providing:
Growth Opportunities:
Train and development programs are given to employees so that they can improve their skills and thus make more profit for the company.
Later Mobility Chances:
Allow for horizontal movements inside a company to enable employees to develop properly in all aspects high or low.
New Challenges & Duties:
Providing employees with new challenges and tasks, so as to counteract the ennui which results from monotony.
There you go!
That’s everything you must know about the career plateau!
Career plateaus are naturally part of the working life, but they can be very frustrating and disheartening.
By understanding the causes, symptoms, and cures for career plateaus, you can minimize their impact and keep your employees’ careers on track.
Whether looking for opportunities to do training in development, seeking a lateral move or changing career path completely — there are many ways employees deal with career plateaus. As a company, you must do everything to avoid such situations and help your workforce reach new heights in their life as professionals!