Exploring Career Plateau as a Multi‐faceted Phenomenon: Understanding the Types of Career Plateaux Experienced by Accounting Professionals

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the types of career plateaux experienced by a sample of 52 men and women employed in the accounting profession in Australia. The aim is to explore whether current definitions of a plateau, which tend to focus only on a lack of progression, are broad enough. The results are based on semi‐structured interviews with 52 participants employed in a range of positions and organizational types in the accounting profession. The qualitative design enabled participants to provide a highly personalized and richly detailed description of their career experiences. There were both positive and negative views of a plateau. With regard to the former, some participants used the plateau as an opportunity to redirect their career paths, whilst for the latter, some participants reported feeling disillusioned, dissatisfied and unsure of their future career direction. The research demonstrates that career plateau is a multi‐faceted phenomenon, i.e. it is strongly influenced by how an individual defines career and success. For example, it can relate to objective definitions of success (i.e. a lack of hierarchical progression) or an individual's desire for ongoing skills development and mentally stimulating work (subjective career success). The message for organizations is that, just because an individual may have reached a senior position in their organization, it does not mean that they are no longer interested in further challenges or development. In fact, the participants in the research were interested in prolonging their careers and wanted their organizations to provide greater support in the area of continuous learning and career development.

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