Job Content Plateaus

Abstract

The current study examined job content plateaus, which occur when employees perceive a lack of future challenge or responsibility in their jobs. Although previous research has indicated that job content plateaus are related to poor job attitudes and outcomes, few studies have examined mediators of these relationships, a critical step in theory development. In this study, we tested a mediation model to examine the outcomes of job content plateaus among a sample of 118 hospital employees in Kenya. Job content plateaus were negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals (OCBIs). Job satisfaction was positively related to OCBIs and organizational citizenship behaviors aimed at organizations (OCBOs) and mediated the relationship between job content plateaus and OCBIs and OCBOs.

Keywords

job content plateau organizational citizenship behaviors distributive justice procedural justice job satisfaction Kenya

Job content plateaus occur when employees perceive a lack of future challenge or responsibility in their jobs (Allen, Russell, Poteet, & Dobbins, 1999; McCleese, Eby, Scharlau, & Hoffman, 2007). Plateaus are an especially relevant topic, given the global recession of 2008, which resulted in high levels of underemployment, a trend that is only slowly improving (McKee-Ryan & Harvey, 2011; World of Work Report, 2013). Research indicates a variety of negative individual and organizational consequences for plateaued employees, such as lower work attitudes, lower job performance, higher absenteeism, and turnover (Allen, Poteet, & Russell, 1998; Chao, 1990; Ettington, 1998; Lee, 2003; Lemire, Saba, & Gagnon, 1999; Near, 1985; Xie, Lu, & Zhou, 2015). Career plateaus are also a concern for many career management scholars and practitioners since plateaus may be more likely to occur among more “seasoned” employees who are a valuable asset in the organization due to their wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise in their careers (Greenhaus, Callanan, & Godshalk, 2010; Lentz & Allen, 2009; Nonaka & von Krogh, 2009).

Job content plateaus represent one form of job underemployment, in which employees are working in jobs that are below their full working capacity (McKee-Ryan & Harvey, 2011). Underemployment is a common career barrier that can evoke strong reactions in employees (London, 1997). Mael and Jex (2015) note an increasing interest in constructs related to underemployment, focusing on job boredom. Measures of job boredom tend to focus on whether one’s current job is repetitive, monotonous, or tedious (e.g., Bruursema, Kessler, & Spector, 2011), whereas job content plateaus focus on perceptions of future opportunities for learning, growth, development, and challenge (see McCleese & Eby, 2006). The career plateau literature and job boredom literature have only recently offered insight into the explanatory mechanisms by which job content plateaus lead to negative consequences. Specifically Xie, Lu, and Zhou (2015) identified affective commitment as a mediator of the relationship between hierarchical plateaus and turnover among Chinese employees.

Drawing from Hobfoll’s (1988, 1989) conservation of resources (COR) theory and the attribution model of justice (Brockner et al., 2007; Wong & Weiner, 1981), the present study extends the existing literature by examining the influence of job content plateaus on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) through employees’ perceptions of justice and job satisfaction. In line with COR, we conceptualize job content plateaus as stressful experiences that deprive employees of valuable resources. In doing so, we extend previous research that has viewed plateaus as stressful (Hurst & Eby, 2010; McCleese et al., 2007) and contribute to this literature by examining the potential influence of justice perceptions and job satisfaction as mediators of the job content plateau—outcomes relationship. Furthermore, despite consistent links between plateauing and formal job performance in the career plateau literature, only one study has examined voluntary outcomes such as OCBs in relation to plateaus (Hurst, Kungu, & Flott, 2012). This may offer a better understanding for how career counselors can intervene and prevent workplace problems when employees are unchallenged and unhappy.

Theoretical Background

Plateaus, Procedural and Distributive Justice, Job Satisfaction, and Citizenship Behavior

COR theory suggests that employees’ experiences of perceived or actual loss of resources at work can lead to stress, and in order to compensate for the loss of resources, employees seek out ways to replenish their resources (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989). Resources are defined as the individual’s ability to fulfill his or her needs and include objects, conditions, energy, and personal characteristics (e.g., money, support, status, and optimism) that foster employee goal accomplishment and well-being. One way employees may lose resources at work is by experiencing a career barrier, such as underemployment in the form of career plateaus (London, 1997). Plateaus can occur when individuals perceive a low future likelihood of promotion within their careers (hierarchical plateau); low levels of future challenge, responsibility, and growth (job content plateau); or both (double plateau; Allen et al., 1999; McCleese et al., 2007). In the present study, we focus on job content plateaus because they may be more adaptable to interventions compared to hierarchical plateaus and may have more negative consequences for individuals because, unlike hierarchical plateaus, employees may perceive job content plateaus as preventable (Lentz & Allen, 2009; McCleese & Eby, 2006).

From the COR perspective, we argue that when job content plateaus do occur, they result in a perceived loss of resources for employees (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989). Most notably, plateaued employees may perceive the possibility of losing personal resources, such as status, esteem, optimism, and feelings of engagement. According to COR, when individuals lose their resources, it makes it difficult for them to self-regulate and to gain more resources from the environment, resulting in the adoption of less adaptive and efficient control strategies. We argue that status and support resource depletion from experiencing plateaus is related to a decrease in employees’ self-control. This then triggers a resource loss spiral, by which employees lose even more resources necessary to regulate emotions and behaviors. These types of loss spirals have been identified in work contexts. For example, M. Wang, Liao, Zhan, and Shi (2011) found that employees experiencing resource loss from customer mistreatment were more likely to engage in undesirable behaviors such as customer-directed sabotage.

One way employees’ lack of self-regulation due to resource depletion may manifest is by leading to engagement in fewer perceived nonessential behaviors. OCBs are discretionary behaviors of employees that are not formally recognized by the reward system but are helpful to the organization (Organ, 1988). Individually focused OCBs (OCBI) include behaviors such as assisting coworkers or supervisors, whereas organizationally focused OCBs (OCBO) include behaviors such as adhering to rules and not taking unnecessary breaks (Williams & Anderson, 1991). OCBs are discretionary but essential to organizational functioning and represent a critical employee behavior that could be reduced when employees are experiencing plateaus. Individuals who are already feeling a depletion of resources by being job content plateaued should engage in fewer OCBs, as engaging in OCBs requires the regulation of emotions and behaviors that the employees do not have. Individuals whose personalities make them prone to feeling bored tend to perceive common tasks as requiring a great deal of effort (Kass, Vodanovich, & Callender, 2001) and are more likely to procrastinate (Vodanovich & Rupp, 1999). Indeed, Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, and Bachrach’s meta-analysis (2000) shows that when employees’ resources are depleted due to role stressors such as role ambiguity or conflict, they engage in fewer OCBs.

Hurst, Kungu, and Flott (2012) found that job content plateaus were negatively related to OCBIs but not OCBOs. However, their sample was comprised of working graduate students, 70% of which were under the age of 40. Career stage may play a role in plateaued employees’ intentions and behaviors (Xie et al., 2015), and it is possible that those in earlier career stages may withhold organizationally focused citizenship behaviors due to the potential impact it could have on career progression. Thus, we believe that both OCBIs and OCBOs may be diminished when experiencing job content plateaus since this indicates low perceptions of future boredom, challenge, and responsibility.

Hypothesis 1: Job content plateaus are negatively related to OCBOs and OCBIs.

Another negative outcome related to job content plateaus might be employees’ feelings of justice or fairness. Managers may be unsympathetic to employee’s worries about future challenge or growth and perceive it to be a problem for the employee to address independently (Meal & Jex, 2015). Alternatively, employees may view it as a managerial/career development responsibility to offer challenging work and, thus, blame management when they perceive job content plateaus.

We know of no studies that have examined the link between plateaus and justice. Two predominant forms of justice in the workplace include (a) procedural justice, defined as the fairness of the means used to achieve results and (b) distributive justice, defined as the fairness of the outcomes employees receive at work (Adams, 1965; Deutsch, 1975). The attribution model of justice indicates employees tend to seek out causal explanations when they experience negative outcomes at work (Wong & Weiner, 1981). Following the attribution model of justice and COR theory, employees experiencing job content plateaus might attribute their negative feelings of resource depletion to a lack of fairness among management, both in the process designed to assign challenging work (i.e., procedural justice) and in the outcomes resulting from that process (i.e., distributive justice).

Hypothesis 2a: Job content plateaus are negatively related to procedural justice.

Hypothesis 2b: Job content plateaus are negatively related to distributive justice.

Plateaued employees often report lower levels of job satisfaction (Chao, 1990; Tremblay & Roger, 2004). Consistent with the attribution theory of justice, researchers have argued that job content plateaus may impact job satisfaction because employees believe their managers or organizations should be able to actively prevent the plateaus (Lentz & Allen, 2009; McCleese & Eby, 2006; Wong & Weiner, 1981). Furthermore, from a COR perspective (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989), plateaued employees may lack the self-regulation, self-esteem, or optimism to focus on the positive aspects of their job, leading to lower job satisfaction.

Hypothesis 2c: Job content plateaus are negatively related to job satisfaction

A large body of research has been dedicated to studying the influence of justice perceptions and job satisfaction on OCBs. Cohen-Charash and Spector’s (2001) meta-analysis revealed that both procedural and distributive justice similarly predicted general measures of OCBs. Podsakoff et al. (2000) found employee attitudes, including perceptions of fairness and job satisfaction, to be the most frequently and consistently reported antecedents of OCBs. Aligning with the attribution model of justice (Brockner et al., 2007), this research suggests that employees who perceive their job content plateaus to be unfair should be less likely to engage in helping behaviors. As Cohen-Charash and Spector argue, employees may consider OCBs to be inputs they can manipulate based on their justice perceptions.

According to attribution theory (Kelley, 1972), employees may attribute their feelings of job satisfaction, procedural justice, and distributive justice to the work environment. As a result, employees who are experiencing positive work attitudes will display high levels of OCBs.

Hypothesis 3a: Procedural justice is positively related to OCBOs and OCBIs.

Hypothesis 3b: Distributive justice is positively related to OCBOs and OCBIs.

Hypothesis 3c: Job satisfaction is positively related to OCBOs and OCBIs.

Explanatory Mechanisms Between Plateaus and OCBs

Researchers have observed a wide range of negative consequences associated with plateauing (Allen et al., 1998; Chao, 1990; Ettington, 1998; Lee, 2003; Lemire et al., 1999; Near, 1985; Xie et al., 2015), but the plateauing literature offers little in the way of explaining the mechanisms through which plateaus lead to these consequences. We suggest that both COR (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989) and the attribution model of justice (Brockner et al., 2007; Wong & Weiner, 1981) may be useful in explaining why plateaued employees report poorer attitudes and increased withdrawal behaviors at work (e.g., McCleese & Eby, 2006; Tremblay & Roger, 2004). We propose that employees experiencing a job content plateau blame their organizations for this career stressor, leading to decreased perceptions of distributive and procedural justice, which will be related to OCBs. Second, we suggest that employees who are dissatisfied because of job content plateaus will withhold any activities that would further deplete their resources, including OCBs. Thus, we propose the following:

Hypothesis 4a: Job content plateaus are related to OCBOs and OCBIs through the mediating role of procedural justice.

Hypothesis 4b: Job content plateaus are related to OCBOs and OCBIs through the mediating role of distributive justice.

Hypothesis 4c: Job content plateaus are related to OCBOs and OCBIs through the mediating role of job satisfaction.

Present Study Context

Research regarding job content plateaus in countries outside the United States is very limited. We address this gap by examining the experiences of plateauing among employees working in Kenya. Kenya stands out as a particularly important context in which to study job content plateaus due to the exceptionally high unemployment rate. For example, 35% of individuals around the age of 20 years are unemployed (United Nations Development Programme Report, 2013). With fewer opportunities for employment, Kenyan employees may be less likely to perceive job content plateaus as a major career setback. Furthermore, the values shared in Kenya differ from countries in the West. Whereas Western countries tend to emphasize individualism, autonomy, and achievement, Eastern countries such as Kenya emphasize collectivism and personal relationships (Triandis, 1995). As such, in Western countries, job content plateaus may be perceived as more of a threat to one’s self-esteem and perceptions of status than in Kenya, due to the Western belief that achievement is an important part of the self (Baranik et al., 2008). On the other hand, Kenyans may be just as likely to view their career success as an important factor in feelings of status and esteem because of the benefits that work brings to them and their families (e.g., being able to provide for one’s family; Nyambegera, Sparrow, & Daniels, 2000). Examining job content plateaus, job attitudes, and OCBs in Kenya is an important test of employees’ perceptions of being plateaued at work and related job attitudes and behaviors in a non-Western context.

Method

Participants and Procedure

An on-site administrator distributed paper-and-pencil surveys to employees of a large, private, nonprofit, urban hospital in Kenya after obtaining informed consent and mailed surveys back to the researchers upon completion. All employees speak fluent English. The hospital employs approximately 1,000 employees, and surveys were distributed to one department. Of this, 118 employees completed surveys during regular work hours. The majority of participants were female (58%) and aged 30–34 (34%). The majority of participants had completed a higher diploma (similar to an associate’s degree; 3% = high school, 4% = some college, 67% = higher diploma, 23% bachelor’s, and 3% master’s). Participants were employed in junior entry-level (49%) or mid-level management positions (48%) and had worked an average of 4.13 years in their organizations (standard deviation [SD] = 1.15) and 2.36 years in their current positions (SD = 0.99).

Measures

All items in the present study were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Coefficients α are reported in Table 1.

Table 1.

Correlations, Means, and Standard Deviations for Predictor Variables.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Age	1.00
2. Gender	.11	1.00
3. Education	−.04	.05	1.00
4. Job content plateau	−.02	−.09	.04	.68
5. Job satisfaction	.17	.09	−.19*	−.42**	.77
6. Distributive justice	−.03	.13	.08	−.24**	.31**	.94
7. Procedural justice	.04	.07	−.03	−.24**	.29**	.57**	.88
8. OCBI	.15	−.06	−.08	−.20*	.22*	−.10	.01	.71
9. OCBO	.02	−.02	−.16	−.22*	.31**	−.07	−.03	.22*	.69
Mean	4.52	1.42	1.26	2.42	3.74	2.48	3.16	3.92	4.23
SD	1.41	0.50	0.44	0.57	0.70	1.02	0.86	0.54	0.54

Note. OCBI = organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individual; OCBO = organizational citizenship behaviors aimed at organizations; SD = standard deviation.

*Correlation significant at the p < .05 level.

**Correlation significant at the p < .01 level.

Job content plateau was measured using 5 items from Milliman’s (1992) scale designed to measure employees’ perceptions of the likelihood of future challenges and responsibilities (e.g., “I will be challenged in my current job”; item is reverse scored). Milliman reported an internal consistency of .87 for job content plateaus and 4-week test–retest reliability of .77. Job content plateaus were significantly correlated with organizational commitment (−.51), promotion satisfaction (−.49), and company satisfaction (−.40).

OCBs (OCBI and OCBO) were assessed using Williams and Anderson’s (1991) scale. Seven of these items assessed OCBO (e.g., “Gives advance notice when unable to come to work”) and 7 items assessed OCBI (e.g., “Take time to listen to co-workers’ problems and worries”). Coefficients α in Williams and Anderson’s study were .88 for OCBI and .75 for OCBO. OCBIs and OCBOs were significantly correlated with intrinsic (.28, .19) and extrinsic (.24, .25) job cognitions and positive arousal (.24, .26).

Procedural Justice was assessed using 6 items from Moorman’s (1991) scale designed to measure perceived fairness of organizational procedures (e.g., “My organization’s procedures provide opportunities to appeal or challenge decisions”). Moorman reported internal consistency of .94 for the formal procedures scale, which was significantly correlated with job satisfaction (.37), distributive justice (.45), and interactive justice (.66).

Distributive Justice was measured using 6 items from Price and Mueller’s (1986) measure, which asked employees to indicate the extent to which they have been rewarded fairly in view of their responsibilities, education, and effort (e.g., “I am rewarded fairly considering the responsibilities I have”). Moorman (1991) reported internal consistency of .94 and significant correlations with job satisfaction (.37), procedural justice (.45), and interactive justice (.60) using Price and Mueller’s (1986) Job Descriptive Index.

Job Satisfaction was measured using 3 items (e.g., “All in all, I am satisfied with my job”) assessing overall job satisfaction (Cammann, Fichman, Jenkins, & Klesh, 1979). Bowling and Hammond’s (2008) meta-analysis revealed a mean internal consistency of .84 for the measure and mean test–retest reliability of .50. The authors also reported average weighted correlations between the measure and satisfaction with the work itself (.74), supervision (.57), coworkers (.40), pay (.53), and promotional opportunities (.54).

Control variables. Age, education, and gender were entered as covariates in both models since they are often correlated with plateaus and helping behaviors (Allen et al., 1998, 1999; Hurst & Eby, 2010). Each of the three control variables was measured using 1-item measures.

Data Analysis

To examine our hypotheses, two parallel mediation models were proposed, with OCBOs functioning as the dependent variable in one of the models and OCBIs functioning as the dependent variable in the other. In both models, job content plateau was treated as the predictor variable and procedural justice, distributive justice, and job satisfaction were treated as simultaneous mediators.

To test the models, a path analysis approach using the PROCESS computational tool (Model 4) for SPSS was used (Hayes, 2012). With PROCESS, direct effects can be tested using ordinary least squares regression, while bootstrapping can be used to provide percentile-based and bias-corrected confidence intervals (BCIs) for testing indirect effects (Hayes, 2013). Researchers advocate using bootstrapping to estimate indirect effects in simple mediation models when sample sizes are not large (Preacher & Hayes, 2004; Shrout & Bolger, 2002). Additionally, BCIs can be used to improve the accuracy of percentile-based confidence intervals (MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004). Following these recommendations, bootstrapping (10,000 samples) was used to test indirect effects using BCIs.

Results

Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations among study variables are shown in Table 1. Job content plateaus were negatively related to procedural justice, distributive justice, and job satisfaction. Procedural justice and distributive justice were not significantly related to OCBO or OCBI. Finally, job satisfaction was positively related to both OCBO and OCBI.

OCBO

Before testing the OCBO model, we examined construct validity using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the measurement model’s fit to the data. Specifically, we tested a five-factor model, including job content plateau, OCBO, distributive justice, procedural justice, and job satisfaction. We correlated one error term in the model due to a clear wording artifact in the job content plateau scale (“I expect to be constantly challenged in my job in the future” and “I will be challenged in my job”). The fit statistics indicated acceptable fit for the five-factor model, χ²(313) = 464.60, p < .01, comparative fit index (CFI) =.90, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .06, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .07. More importantly, an alternative one-factor model in which all items loaded onto the same factor did not fit the data, χ²(323) = 989.34, p < .01, CFI = .57, RMSEA = .13, SRMR = .13), suggesting that common method variation did not explain the observed relationships (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986).

The complete model effects for OCBOs are presented in Table 2. The standardized effects are reported for all results. The overall model was able to account for 15% of the variance in performance of OCBOs, F(7, 110) = 2.77, p = .01. Job content plateaus were not directly related to OCBOs (β = −.15, p = .13), failing to support Hypothesis 1. Job content plateaus were negatively related to procedural justice (β = −.25) and distributive justice (β = −.24); however, the model for predicting procedural justice, F(4, 113) = 1.98, p = .10, R ² = .07, and distributive justice, F(4, 113) = 2.43, p = .05, R ² = .08 fell just short of statistical significance, failing to support Hypothesis 2a or 2b. Job content plateau was also negatively related to job satisfaction (β = −.37) and the model significantly predicted job satisfaction F(4, 113) = 8.72, p < .01, R ² = .24, supporting Hypothesis 2c. As shown in Table 2, neither procedural (β = −.07, p = .52) nor distributive justice (β = −.15, p = .17) were related to OCBOs, failing to support Hypothesis 3a or 3b. Job satisfaction was positively related to OCBOs (β = .31, p = .01), supporting Hypothesis 3c. Finally, job content plateau was not related to OCBOs through procedural justice (ab = .018, 95% BCIs [−.025, .094]) or distributive justice (ab = .036, 95% BCIs [−.010, .116]), failing to support Hypotheses 4a and 4b. However, the indirect effect of job content plateau through job satisfaction (ab = −.115, 95% BCIs [−.249, −.023]) was significant, supporting Hypothesis 4c.

Table 2.

Model Effects for OCBOs.

Variable	β	SE	t	p	95%
Variable	β	SE	t	p	Lower CI	Upper CI
Age	−.04	.09	−0.38	.70	−.22	.15
Gender	−.02	.09	−0.21	.83	−.20	.16
Education	−.09	.09	−0.98	.33	−.28	.09
Job satisfaction	.31	.11	2.83	.01	.09	.52
Procedural justice	−.07	.11	−0.65	.52	−.29	.15
Distributive justice	−.15	.11	−1.38	.17	−.38	.07
Job content plateau	−.15	.10	−1.52	.13	−.35	.05

Note. All variables were standardized prior to estimation. CI = confidence interval; OCBOs = organizational citizenship behaviors aimed at organizations; SE = standard error.

OCBI

We examined the construct validity of the OCBI model using CFA to test a five-factor model, including job content plateau, OCBI, distributive justice, procedural justice, and job satisfaction. The same job content plateau error term that was correlated in the OCBO model was correlated in the OCBI model. The fit statistics indicated acceptable fit for the five-factor model, χ²(313) = 475.51, p < .01, CFI = .90, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .08. An alternative one-factor model in which all items loaded onto the same factor did not fit the data, χ²(323) = 1,018.47, p < .01, CFI = .57, RMSEA = .13, SRMR = .14.

The complete model effects for OCBIs are presented in Table 3. The overall model accounted for 14% of the variance in performance of OCBIs, F(7, 110) = 2.51, p < .01. Job content plateau was negatively related to OCBIs (β = −.20, p = .04), providing support for Hypothesis 1. Neither procedural (β = .00, p = .97) nor distributive justice (β = −.19, p = .10) were related to OCBIs, failing to support Hypothesis 3a or 3b. Job satisfaction was positively related to OCBIs (β = .23, p < .04), providing full support for Hypothesis 3c. Finally, job content plateau did not indirectly influence OCBIs through procedural justice (ab = .001, 95% BCIs [−.058, .053]) or distributive justice (ab = .044, 95% BCIs [−.001, .123]), failing to support Hypothesis 4a or 4b. However, job content plateau was related to OCBIs indirectly through job satisfaction (ab = −.087, 95% BCIs [−.184, −.020]), fully supporting Hypothesis 4c.

Table 3.

Model Effects for OCBIs.

Variable	β	SE	t	p	95%
Variable	β	SE	t	p	Lower CI	Upper CI
Age	.09	.09	0.94	.35	−.10	.27
Gender	−.07	.09	−0.79	.43	−.25	.11
Education	.01	.09	0.15	.88	−.17	.20
Job satisfaction	.23	.11	2.13	.04	.02	.45
Procedural justice	−.00	.11	−0.04	.97	−.22	.22
Distributive justice	−.19	.11	−1.67	.10	−.41	.03
Job content plateau	−.20	.10	−2.04	.04	−.40	−.01

Note. All variables were standardized prior to estimation. CI = confidence interval; OCBIs = organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals; SE = standard error.

Discussion

This study extends the career plateau literature in two important ways. First, our results expand the criterion space of negative outcomes associated with plateaus. The negative relationship between plateaus and job satisfaction confirms that job content plateaus are perceived as challenging situations that reduce satisfaction (Chao, 1990; Tremblay & Roger, 2004), even in Kenya, and contrary to Hurst and colleagues (2012), our findings indicate both individually and organizationally focused citizenship behaviors are reduced when employees perceive little challenge in their jobs. This finding is consistent with Bruursema, Kessler, and Spector’s (2011) results, which revealed that bored employees also act out negatively toward individuals and the organization and suggests plateaus can have serious consequences for the organization beyond what was previously known about their impact on formal job performance (Allen et al., 1998; Near, 1985).

Second, our findings identified job satisfaction as a key mediator of the relationship between job content plateaus and OCBIs and OCBOs, lending support to the formerly untested assumption that plateaus lead to negative consequences for employees because employees become dissatisfied with their jobs (Hurst et al., 2012). That is, the present study is the first to link job content plateaus to more distal outcomes (OCBs) through the mediating influence of job satisfaction. These findings support the COR (Hobfoll, 1988, 1989) perspective on job content plateaus, such that job content plateaus are related to more strain in the form of job dissatisfaction. The depletion of resources, such as energy and esteem, associated with job dissatisfaction makes it hard for employees to engage in the self-regulation required for OCBs.

Interestingly, justice did not mediate the relationship between plateaus and OCBs. Inspection of the correlation matrix shows that justice and OCBs were not correlated with one another. This finding goes against meta-analytic work, showing that both distributive and procedural justice predicts OCBs (Cohen-Charash & Spector, 2001). One explanation for this finding is that forms of the career barriers of underemployment, such as workplace boredom or career plateaus, have become more prevalent (Mael & Jex, 2015; McKee-Ryan & Harvey, 2011). Employees may be anticipating them and do not view their career situation as a failure or blame management for failing to provide challenging assignments and thus do not withhold OCBs in response. Another explanation is the cultural context of the study. When examining justice and OCBs in Saudi Arabia, Elamin and Tlaiss (2015) found that distributive and procedural justice correlated with fewer dimensions of OCBs than interactional justice and that the correlations between distributive and procedural justice and OCBs were lower in magnitude than those between interactional justice and OCBs. Thus, it may be that other forms of justice, such as interactional justice, are more meaningful predictors of OCBs in Kenya, as they are in other countries like Saudi Arabia. These findings support the assertions of scholars who argue that employees’ concerns about justice are universal (Gupta & Singh, 2013), but that the most relevant types of justice may depend on the context of the country (Leung & Tong, 2004). Overall, these findings support the notion that career barriers, such as job content plateaus, are subjective and that individuals will make sense of the plateau in different ways depending on individual and contextual factors, resulting in different reactions (London, 1997).

Areas for Future Research

The present study examined experiences of employees reporting a job content plateau, but it seems reasonable that the model explored here might also be appropriate for those experiencing a hierarchical plateau or double plateau (McCleese et al., 2007). Depending on the circumstances surrounding their low likelihood of promotion, some employees may perceive hierarchical plateaus as more of an injustice than others. For instance, while in some professions employees might expect their careers to plateau based on the typical career pattern (e.g., teachers), expectations for advancement might be higher in other professions (e.g., sales). If the reality does not match career expectations, hierarchically plateaued employees may be more likely to view career stagnation as an injustice. Future research should also examine how other forms of underemployment career barriers, such as overeducation and overqualification, predict job satisfaction and OCBs.

Researchers should also attempt to examine the potential mediating role of job satisfaction on other career outcomes. Plateaus have long been linked to lower job performance and higher turnover (Allen et al., 1998; Near, 1985; Y. Wang, Hu, Hurst, & Yang, 2014; Xie et al., 2015) and job satisfaction might explain why employees who are plateaued are more likely to reduce effort at work or seek alternative employment. Another potential outcome to consider is counterproductive work behaviors. This construct has been linked to job boredom (Bruursema et al., 2011) and it is possible that in addition to negatively impacting OCBs, plateaued employees’ job dissatisfaction also leads to an increase in counterproductive activities at work. Finally, future research should examine the mediating role of job satisfaction on subjective career outcomes such as career satisfaction and occupational commitment.

Study Limitations

Several study limitations are worth noting. First, the use of cross-sectional data leads to concerns about reverse causality, and longitudinal work addressing this issue is warranted. In addition, all data were collected using perceptual measures, raising concerns about possible common method bias. However, the correlations among study variables suggest little evidence of multicollinearity. Furthermore, employee self-reports of job content plateaus, justice, and job satisfaction are an accurate method of assessing employees’ perceptions of their work experiences. Previous authors have utilized self-report OCB measures (e.g., Joireman, Daniles, George-Falvv, & Kamdar, 2006; Van Dyne, Graham, & Dienesch, 1994) due to their accuracy for assessing employee perceptions (Chan, 2009; Spector, 1994) and have reported that self-report measures of OCBs do not compromise the substantive interpretation of the scales (Kelloway, Loughlin, Barling, & Nault, 2002). Lastly, although the coefficients α for OCBO and job content plateau fell just below the recommended criteria (Nunnaly, 1978), this may be a function of the somewhat modest sample size. Nevertheless, future researchers should attempt to confirm the relationships identified here in additional samples.

The second set of concerns relate to the fact that data were collected in Kenya, and the sample was convenience based, which may raise generalizability concerns. Although the majority of our study measures have received support in the literature for cross-cultural invariance (Farh, Zhong, & Organ, 2004; Liu, Spector, & Shi, 2007; Palich, Horn, & Griffith, 1995), some researchers have suggested that the methods for investigating a construct’s invariance across cultures should be more in-depth than the standard methods of using CFA or item response theory (Vandenberg & Lance, 2000). For example, Farh, Zhong, and Organ (2004) argue that using common measures of OCBs in China may result in construct validity problems; specifically that dimensions of OCBs identified in China have not been identified in Western measures of OCBs. Designing customized assessments for different cultures is time intensive, but management research would benefit from more of these efforts.

On the other hand, we believe the participant sample adds to the literature since few studies have examined plateauing in cultures outside of the United States (Jung & Tak, 2008; Salami, 2010; Xie et al., 2015). With globalization continuing to increase, it is increasingly important to examine management phenomena across cultures in order to avoid homogenization, whereby management research and theories are defined solely by North American research (Shao, Rupp, Skarlicki, & Jones, 2013; Tsui & Jiaotung, 2007). Thus, the current study addresses gaps in the career plateau literature and responds to calls in the organizational behavior literature for more cross-cultural research (Rousseau & Fried, 2001).

Practical Implications

The findings from the present study indicate that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between job content plateaus and OCBs. It might be difficult for managers to predict or recognize when employees are beginning to feel plateaued (McCleese et al., 2007). However, it is clear that open lines of communication are needed in order to prevent plateaus, and results from this study suggest organizations benefit when plateaus are identified. Even if a manager cannot substantially change employees’ work tasks (McCleese & Eby, 2006), employees could work with career counselors to explore other ways, such as mentoring, to increase challenge (McCleese & Eby, 2006; Y. Wang et al., 2014) and avoid the negative impact on job satisfaction and helping behaviors. If doing so is not possible, offering an explanation to employees about the reasons for and expected duration of slow periods in their careers might also help improve justice perceptions, since employees may be quick to become dissatisfied and withhold citizenship behaviors if no explanation is provided.

Our study adds to the careers literature by identifying an important causal mechanism by which job content plateaus may influence work outcomes. Because of the perceptual nature of plateaus, we encourage managers and career counselors to engage in regular conversations with employees about career progression in order to prevent the negative impact of plateaus on important organizational outcomes.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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