Career plateauing: reactions and moderators among managerial and professional employees

Abstract

Questionnaire data obtained from managerial and professional employees in Singapore (N = 141) were used to examine reactions to and moderators of career plateauing. Zero-order correlation coefficients revealed that the perceptual measure of career plateauing was more significantly negatively related to the work attitudes and behaviours than was job tenure. Moderated regression analyses results also revealed that, in general, the perceptual measure of career plateau explained more of the variance in the work attitudes and behaviours than did job tenure. Further, the moderated regression analyses revealed that of the three moderators (job tenure, supervisor support and job characteristics) and the six work attitudes and behaviours examined, supervisor support and job challenge significantly positively moderated only the effects of career plateauing on in-role behaviours. Limitations of the study, directions for future research and implications of the findings are discussed.