When Careers Stall: Why Struggling Employees Speak Up Instead of Staying Silent

What is it about?

This article examines how employees react when they believe their careers have stalled—known as career plateau beliefs—and whether such views hinder or motivate them to share constructive ideas. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, it proposes that career stagnation can produce two opposite responses: some employees, depleted by disappointment, stay silent to conserve energy, while others engage in promotive voice—offering new ideas—to restore lost resources and improve their career and work environment. Using survey data from 355 Canadian IT employees, the study supports the resource-acquisition view: instead of withdrawing, those who feel their careers have plateaued often speak up more, especially in demanding settings. Four factors amplify this effect—work overload, work–family conflict, organizational politics, and dissatisfaction with performance. As these stressors build, frustration turns into motivation to propose solutions that help both the organization and their own growth. The research reveals that speaking up in tough times can be a psychological coping mechanism, allowing employees to reassert control over stalled careers. Far from being disengaged, plateaued employees may actually become some of the organization’s most proactive contributors when adversity intensifies their motivation to restore personal and professional resources.

Featured Image

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is unique in examining career stagnation not as an inhibitor but as a potential stimulus for constructive voice behavior. By integrating resource-conservation and resource-acquisition perspectives within COR theory, it reveals that career plateau beliefs can produce dual outcomes depending on contextual adversity. The inclusion of four moderators—work overload, work–family conflict, organizational politics, and underperformance—creates a comprehensive framework that explains when stagnation motivates adaptive proactivity rather than disengagement. This study is timely amid the growing prevalence of career plateaus in fast-paced sectors like technology. Challenging the idea that frustration leads to withdrawal, it shows that stagnation can prompt employees to restore lost psychological and career resources through constructive voice. The findings urge organizations not to mistake plateaued employees for complacent ones, emphasizing that with proper support, their frustration can fuel innovation and change, enriching both theory and practice on proactive behavior.