Career stagnation causes and effects on individuals

On Sunday night, do you fear Monday and starting a new work week or when you’re at the office, does the day drag by and you can’t wait to leave? Are you more irritable and gloomy while you’re at work than at home? Career stagnation. As you know it Career stagnation or Work stress is a universal sensation that has been found to raise hostile health, performance and general well-being concerns in diverse organisational and behavioural studies. Getting self-satisfied around a job that makes you ‘feel comfortable’ can happen quite instinctively. The conveniences and the compensation benefits that come with the job could have stopped you from looking any further. Years down the lane, you might unexpectedly realize you are frustrated doing a job that you don’t like or got bored doing; that does not take you anywhere in your career.

So, what are the causes and effect of career stagnation?

1. Bored at office

If your current job does not put you to good use and does not require any of the skills you acquired, then you find it difficult work with the organisation. The only benefit that your current job can offer you then is the salary which is also questionable if there occurred any circumstances or if the organization preferred fresh talents who can work better than you, and also replace your role at a lesser cost to the company.

2. No possibility of Acquiring Knowledge

For any kind of work in progress, learning and applying new skills are impossible. If your current job does not give you the freedom to learn and grow in the area of specialization, then you are going to be outdated, and you are no more a resource for the organization nor a favourable choice for the company.

3. No salary increase

After all the hard work and the time at work, if your efforts aren’t receiving any compensation or promotion for a job well, then it is a sign of staying at the same job doing the same old activities for too long. Having the same role and doing the same job with little to no increase in pay or promotion, reduces your selling value while you are on your next job hunt.

4. No space for skills application

Often times, you’ve been in your current job for a while, waited for enough and see no possibility nor change in your job role when skills of employees are not being utilized to the highest, it reduces the drive, resulting in frustration at work. Learning supplemented with scope for implementing what is newly learned essential factors to check in a job role.

5. Overloaded with work

Are you a very capable and skilful individual who is only burdened and unnoticed at work? Pointless to say, you are at the wrong place, and in a wrong position. Reliable employees are assets to organizations, and organizations value them.

6. Not in Good times with your Senior Officers

If you begin to realise, that you are unrecognised, and your ideas are not respected, it is eventually resulting to unhappiness at work at your workplace. Rather than letting all the pent-up frustration reflect in your relationship with your boss or your performance at work, move on to favourable career scenarios, and save yourself from any bitter relationships with your boss and contemporaries.

7. Organization going Down

If your current organization has recently suffered capital losses and is going down in rank, it is good to stay alerted on new career prospects and save yourself from the effects of a possible stagnation. In such a case, it would be clever to make the move and find opportunities elsewhere, then waiting to be pushed to make the move.

8. No great opportunities for growth

If the current organization does not provide you the necessary opportunities to grow but your talent gets noticed, and you are contacted by different organisations or private parastatal with better opportunities; then, why to wait to pick the opportunity. When you are being called without an application, it suggests, you are in a favourable position and are viewed as a potential candidate to fill in a place.

9. Lacking skills

Let’s get honest. At times, there comes a time when you realize upon self-absorption that you could accomplish better by acquiring further skills and that the cause for career stagnation is not always optional. If you can make the time required to do professional certification courses and if it suits your economic status, then it would be a wiser decision to invest in your growth.

While your interest at self-improvement gets noticed, organizations also respond positively to such efforts and respond with suitable up gradation in the role and pay.

Final Statement

Research conducted by MRINetwork (Recruitment Sentiment Study, 1st Half of 2015), states that recruiters believed that the power dynamic in the current labour market, was greatly candidate driven than being employer driven. If this research is to be assumed and good to be true, then the job environments are now favourable for establishments than ever before, to jump on the lobby and grow in their careers, with a viable plan in place. One Jeff Schmitt stated that “Overcoming career stagnation can be as theatrical as a defining moment that changes your path or as simple as a change in repetitive or approach. Either way, it requires self-evaluation, planning, and choice.”His words are so true, and he also shares more helpful information on tips for dealing with career stagnation.