Job satisfaction, perceived career plateau, and the perception of promotability: A correlational study in television media

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 12.8 million new jobs will exist by 2016, increasing employment by 8.5%. Within this timeframe, employment within the broadcast television media industry will increase about 9%. The research problem addressed was the lack of understanding of factors that influence full-time television media employees' job satisfaction, perceived career plateau, and perception of promotability. Researchers have noted the importance of job satisfaction aimed at work attitudes and career plateau, yet career plateau continues to be a source of job dissatisfaction for many employees. Job dissatisfaction and career plateaus can have negative individual and organizational implications. The purpose of the study was to narrow the knowledge gap and understand the relationship among full-time television media employees' job satisfaction, perceived career plateau, and the perception of promotability. The research questions were designed to answer whether correlational relationships exist among full-time television media employees, job satisfaction, and perceived career plateau and to identify the role of certain demographics. Attribution theory was the theoretical framework used in this quantitative correlational study. Data were collected from 83 full-time television media employees via an online survey. Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Results showed a significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and career plateau, and findings invite future research on the relationship between career plateau and gender. The results of the study could afford organizational leaders of any industry the ability to initiate career development and job enrichment programs to reduce the negative effects of plateauing and improve job satisfaction.