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.