Staff Nurses' Career Plateau and Its Influence on Their Work Engagement

Abstract

Context: Nowadays, due to volatile organizational structures and unstable circumstances, employees work in the same job for a long period. So, a career plateau will result in obstacles to promotion; the employee remains in the same position for a longer period, and the employee feels bored with the job. The plateaued employees have become less optimistic, very nervous, and highly stressed. Therefore, a career plateau is an antecedent for unwanted work outcomes, such as low job satisfaction, low career motivation, low self-efficacy, and low work engagement.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the career plateau perceived by staff nurses and its influence on their work engagement.

Methods: A descriptive correlational design was used to conduct this study at Heart and Specialized Surgery Hospital on one hundred and forty nursing staff. Data collection tools included Career Plateau Scale and Work Engagement Scale.

Results: Illustrate that most nursing staff (76.4%) had a high level of experience with hierarchical/structural plateau. Meanwhile, 35.8% had a high level of experience with maintenance plateau. Regarding the total level of career plateau, it was observed that 56.4% of nurses staff had a high level of experience with a total career plateau, and 26.4% of them had a moderate level. At the same time, 17.2% had a low level of total career plateau. Nursing staff distribution regarding work engagement dimensions indicates that the majority (91.6%) had a high level regarding the dedication dimension. In addition, 82.4% had a high level regarding the vigor dimension. At the same time, only 9.7% of them had a high level regarding absorption dimension. There was a statistically significant moderate positive correlation between nursing staff perception of Hierarchical/structural career plateau and their work absorption dimension at r=0.55, p=0.001. While there was a statistically significant negative correlation between nursing staff perception of career plateau and engagement dimensions at r=-0.300, p. value <0.001.

Conclusion: Indicates a statistically significant negative correlation between total nursing staff perception of career plateau and their total work engagement. The study recommended that nurse managers develop a clear road map for advancing the career of staff nurses to reduce the plateauing of careers, and implementation of career development programs should be proactive rather than reactive so that employees are better equipped to deal with career stagnation and boredom.