Career plateauing and work engagement of university faculty members: The mediating role of organizational identification

Research on career plateau has rarely addressed university faculty. However, given the negative outcomes of such a plateau, it is important to explore its effects. Drawing on social identity theory, this study examined the mediating effect of organizational identification in the relationship between career plateau and work engagement. Three-wave data were collected from a sample of 389 university faculty in China. The results indicate that hierarchical plateau and job-content plateau had negative effects on work engagement. Moreover, organizational identification was found to mediate the relationship between job-content plateau and work engagement. The theoretical and practical implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.