B2 – Upper Intermediate
When you hold a job that’s just alright, it can pose challenges. As time passes, you may become accustomed to the routine, yet advancement in your career remains gradual. This feeling of being at a standstill is known as a ‘job plateau’. It emerges when you start feeling disconnected or uninterested in your job after a while.
Read this article to learn the signs that you’ve hit your ‘job plateau’.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/job-plateau-career-question_l_65e0dfc9e4b0d2a24758851f
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “to hit the job plateau” mean? “Don’t ignore the warnings that you’ve hit your job plateau.” Use this expression in a sentence.
- What does “to coast along” mean? “That kind of thing can keep you coasting along for a really long time.” Use this phrase in a sentence.
- What does “to go through the motions” mean? “Oftentimes when people are in a plateau, they’re not really thinking about it. They’re just going through the motions more than anything.” Use this phrase in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- Have you experienced a sense of being stuck and unable to advance in your career, similar to what’s known as a job plateau? How did you identify this phase?
- Despite recognizing the need to leave a job plateau, why do individuals often choose to remain in that state?
- How do you typically manage feelings of stagnation or monotony in your job, similar to those associated with a job plateau?
- What criteria do you use to distinguish between a temporary rough patch in your job and a more prolonged period of being in a job plateau?
- When faced with significant decisions like whether to stay in a job plateau or seek new opportunities, what steps do you take to navigate through the dilemma?
2 replies on “Job Plateau”
1. I have been experiencing this feeling from some years ago. I have been doing the same tasks for more than 20 years and sometimes I carry out my activities mechanically even though I need to concentrate on doing some of them. I am working in my comfort zone with no worries but on the other hand, sometimes I feel that the work is boring, and I do not have anything else to learn. On the contrary, it is me who is teaching the rest of my team.
2. One of the reasons why individuals prefer to stay in a boring job rather than look for another one is because they are afraid of the unknown. They do not know if the new job could be worse, maybe because of the work environment or the procedures used by the company.
3. The article states some piece of advice to overcome monotony at work. One can be to look for a hobby which encourages to think in it instead of work. Another one is to notice that the salary received will be spent it on paying the mortgage, debts or enjoying in your leisure time.
4. One way to know if the person is on the job plateau is to ask oneself if there is anything else that can be learnt from that job, or there are any other skills that this person can develop in daily activities.
5. Before deciding to change into another work, the person should ask themselves if they would accept the same job if it was offered by another company. If the answer is affirmative, then the person should remain in the company and not think about changing.
You are doing a very good job with your writing exercise.
Take a look at some corrections that can be made in these sentences to improve them:
Keep up the job well done!