Stress, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, and Coping: Comparisons Among Plateaued and Non-Plateaued Employees

Abstract

Results of this study extend research on the outcomes of hierarchical and job content plateaus by considering stress and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Plateaus were positively related to stress and negatively related to OCBs. We also examined differences in coping strategies by incorporating responses from non-plateaued as well as three groups of plateaued employees. Non-plateaued employees reported higher usage of non-work coping strategies compared to double plateaued employees and those reporting no hierarchical plateau had higher usage of non-work coping strategies than hierarchically plateaued employees, offering some initial insights on how non-plateaued employees might be successfully avoiding plateaus in their careers. Lastly, job involvement and non-work coping strategies were negatively related to stress. Implications of these results for research and practice are also discussed.