Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

4-25-2025

Keywords

Baby Boomers, career plateau, cardiovascular disease, stress

Disciplines

Developmental Psychology

Abstract

A career plateau can be defined as a phenomenon in which an individual’s career becomes stagnant. It is imperative to distinguish the two types of career plateaus: (1) content (job content) plateauing and (2) structural (hierarchical) plateauing. Content plateauing refers to a situation in which an individual’s job content (i.e., knowledge, skills, duties, responsibilities, etc.) stops changing. While structural plateauing assumes content plateauing, it also refers to a situation in which an individual can no longer progress, advance, or be promoted within the hierarchical framework of an organization. Career plateauing is not a novel phenomenon; however, it has progressively become a more prominent societal and organizational area of concern. The Baby Boomers in the US have been highly linked to career plateauing as this generation of individuals is living with the repercussions of the economic, technological, and societal developments made by prior generations.

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