The Career Plateaus The pyramidal structure of many organizations together with a shrinking number of management positions typically means that a time will come in an individual’s career when he or she will no longer be able to move up in an organization in additional career progress is not likely to be a continuous upward journey, but rather one that includes periods of movement and periods of stability. These factor contribute to what has been termed a career plateau. A career plateau has been defines as “the point in a career where the likelihood of additional hierarchical promotion is very low” early writing on career plateaus suggest that this is a traumatic experience for many employees, accompanied by feelings of stress, frustration, failure, and guilt. More recent writing suggests that a plateau can also be seen as a “time of change, transition, re-evaluation, and reflection”