Work‐role overload, work–life conflict, and perceived career plateau: The moderating role of emotional stability

Abstract

As perceived career plateau is a prevalent but undesirable state which is harmful to employees and organizations, human resource management (HRM) research has devoted efforts to exploring ways of managing it. However, to date, research has largely been limited to variables that reduce perceived career plateau. There is a need to understand what factors increase these perceptions and how/when they do so, to advance theoretical and practical perspectives. This study contributes to the career plateau literature by investigating how and under what conditions work‐role overload can increase employees' perceived career plateau (hierarchical and job content plateaus). Based on a three‐wave survey of employees from the service sector of China, we found that work‐role overload interacted with employees' trait emotional stability and affected their work–life conflict, which had downstream implications on the two types of perceived career plateaus. Specifically, work‐role overload related positively to work–life conflict only when employees had a high (versus low) level of emotional stability. Also, work–life conflict mediated the effects of work‐role overload on perceived hierarchical and job content plateaus for employees with high, but not for those with low, emotional stability. These findings provide new insights into how, by taking into account stressful work contexts and individual differences, HRM professionals may intervene to prevent employees from perceiving career plateau.

Connecting the dots: How parent support shapes career readiness through psychological capital

“…This contrasts with extroverted or conscientious individuals, who tend to act in anticipation of what they may confront in the future (Figure 2). Emotional stability is a personality trait that reflects a person's inclination to remain calm, focused, positive, resilient and confident in the face of adversity (Huo & Jiang, 2023). Individuals' emotional stability characterises their predisposition to feel a greater or lesser degree of negative affect, while emotional competence and regulation show their ability to control their own emotional experiences (Bubić & Ivanišević, 2016).…”

Emotional Exhaustion and Emotional Contagion: Navigating Turnover Intention of Healthcare Personnel

“…24 Furthermore, mechanisms and boundary conditions, such as moderating variables, are crucial for comprehensively understanding a potential outcome variable. 19 Therefore, we considered the mediating and moderating role of emotions, which has been neglected in organizational behavior and which the human resource management literature needs to explore in work life. 25 …”

“…18 Role overload is also recognized as a stressor that depletes personal resources. 15,19 In studies on work-related stress, the role of negative emotions should not be disregarded. 20 Emotional exhaustion (EE) is a form of negative emotion.…”

“…24 Furthermore, mechanisms and boundary conditions, such as moderating variables, are crucial for comprehensively understanding a potential outcome variable. 19 Therefore, we considered the mediating and moderating role of emotions, which has been neglected in organizational behavior and which the human resource management literature needs to explore in work life. 25 Based on the research gap mentioned above, there are contradictory conclusions regarding the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and uncertainty regarding the moderating role of collective emotional contagion.…”