Emotional intelligence and access to training as antecedents of hierarchical career plateauing: an empirical study

Purpose The proliferation of flat organizations makes the hierarchical career plateau an unavoidable reality and a major stressor for many employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether emotional intelligence (EI) and access to training play a role in reducing subjective hierarchical career plateauing in organizations. Design/methodology/approach A survey following a snowball methodology served to collect 117 usable responses from employees in Lebanese organizations. The survey data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to assess the hypothesis that access to training mediates the relationship between EI and hierarchical career plateauing. Findings The findings show a significant positive relationship between EI and access to training, and a significant negative relationship between access to training and hierarchical plateauing. The SEM results indicate that access to training fully mediates the relationship between EI and hierarchical career plateauing, with the strongest relationship arising via the control of one’s own emotions subscale within the EI construct; employees who manage their own emotions intelligently perceive greater access to training opportunities at work, in turn, lowering their perceptions of hierarchical plateauing. Practical implications Access to training helps employees reduce their perceptions of hierarchical plateauing. Organizations are thus advised to build awareness of the training opportunities available for their employees to alleviate plateauing. Importantly, our study shows that access to training is a mediating variable between EI and hierarchical career plateauing. This suggests that hiring emotionally intelligent employees could be rewarding because they perceive greater training opportunities and are thus less likely to perceive a hierarchical plateau. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies that examines the relationships between EI, access to training and hierarchical career plateauing. Using signaling theory as an overarching framework, we integrate EI research with career plateauing research to provide a nuanced understanding of career and work-related perceptions within the MENA region.