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Abstract
Hierarchical, job content, and double plateaued employees from a variety of industries were surveyed regarding their experiences. The stress associated with experiencing a hierarchical or job content plateau was higher than overall stress reported by comparable samples in previous research. Neither hierarchically nor job content plateaued employees reported feeling there was much at stake in experiencing a plateau (primary appraisal) or that they were unable to change their situations (secondary appraisal). Employees reported 27 distinct coping themes organized into 7 meta-themes, with the most common being Discuss Problem, Job Withdrawal, and Mental Coping. Differences in coping strategies depending on the type of plateau experienced were also observed. Plateaued employees reported higher depression than non-plateaued employees but those who used Discuss Problem to cope were less depressed than those who did not, whereas those who used Job Involvement were more depressed. Implications for theory and suggestions for practice are discussed.