Tourism Review

Career plateau, job burnout and organizational commitment

of resorts employees during the COVID-19 epidemic: the
moderating effect of flexible work and job rotation

Journal: Tourism Review

Manuscript ID TR-12-2022-0634

Manuscript Type: Research Paper

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Career plateau, Organizational commitment, Job burnout, Flexible work,

Keywords:
Job rotation, Resorts
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ism
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3 Career plateau, job burnout and organizational commitment of resorts employees
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5 during the COVID-19 epidemic: the moderating effect of flexible work and job rotation
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7
Design/methodology/approach
8 A survey was employed to examine the concept model about career plateau, organizational
9 commitment, and job burnout. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the
10 developed model and the moderating effect of training and job rotation.
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12 Purpose- This study analyzed how the COVID-19 epidemic influences career plateau, and
13 organizational commitment, and examined the moderate effect of training and job rotation
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15 between career plateau and organizational commitment. It proposed corresponding
16 countermeasures for resorts to reduce job burnout during the COVID-19 epidemic.
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18 Findings - The study found that career plateaus negatively influence organizational
19 commitment and positively influence job burnout. Organizational commitment partially
20 mediated the relationship between career plateau and job burnout. Job rotation negatively
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moderated career plateau toward organizational commitment, and flexible work negatively
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23 moderated career plateau toward job burnout.
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Practical implications – Flexible work and job rotation could help organizations develop
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26 corresponding HR countermeasures to the COVID-19 epidemic.
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Originality/value -Theoretically, we developed a conceptual model to identify the epidemic
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29 impact on career plateau, organizational commitment, and job burnout. under COVID-19,
30 and examined the logical relation between career plateau and job burnout. Empirically,
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flexible work and job rotation could be available as the hanuman resource management
33 measures in the tourism sector in coping with the later stage of the epidemic.
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35 Keywords: Career plateau, Organizational commitment, Job burnout, Flexible work, Job
36 rotation, Resorts
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38
39 1 Introduction
40 Job burnout is increasingly being addressed in many disciplines, including psychology
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41 and management (Bianchi et al., 2014). Job burnout refers to a state of physical and mental
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exhaustion caused by long-term high-intensity and high-load work among workers in the
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service industry (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). Burnout exists in almost all occupations, and
45 burnout is detrimental to employees, those they serve, and even the organizations they work in
46 (Maslach et al., 1996). The factors that trigger job burnout are various and complex, especially
47 when employees have served for a certain period, during which they are more prone to many
48 burnout manifestations (Rawolle et al., 2016). In addition, employees will inevitably encounter
49 career plateaus in their careers. When employees realize that their performance, contribution,
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and ability are no longer valued or recognized by the organization, dysfunction will occur.
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52 Subsequently, psychological distress reduces organizational efficiency and effectiveness
53 (Allen et al., 1998). A career plateau is the stagnation of an individual's career development in
54 his \ her current organization, which will undoubtedly lead to negative consequences for the
55 individual (Meyer & Allen, 1991). From the research on career plateaus, it can be found that
56 the existence of career plateaus will affect employees' job stability, organizational commitment,
57 and job burnout (Schaufeli et al., 2009; Yang et al., 2019). Career plateaus can better reflect
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employee states and possibly subsequence behaviors in an organization. In addition,
60 organizational commitment better reflects non-contractual partnerships between employees
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3 and organizations, which can be a consequence of employee career plateaus as well as an
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antecedent of burnout (Armstrong, 2008). However, there remains insufficient research
6 regarding career plateau as an antecedent to job burnout (Salvagioni et al., 2017). Therefore, this
7 article introduces organizational commitment as a mediating variable to bridge the research
8 gap in exploring career plateaus and job burnout based on organizational commitment.
9 In addition, changes in the organizational environment lead to corresponding adjustments
10 in the organization's human resource management strategies, affecting employees' career
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plateaus and thereby affecting their organizational commitment and resulting in job burnout
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(Kemo Badiane, 2016). With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 epidemic across the globe (Zu
14 et al., 2020), the disease has become a worldwide public health crisis with dull consequences
15 for the global economy (World Economic Forum, 2020). Macau's prosperity and economic
16 development have long relied on the contribution of the gaming and tourism industry (Tse et
17 al., 2010), but COVID-19 has had an extreme impact on Macau's gaming and tourism industry,
18 causing new damage to the operations of gaming companies. Under the epidemic, casinos were
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even forced to close. The epidemic might have long-term and indeed permanent effects on
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21 Macau's gaming and tourism industries. In response to the adverse impact of the epidemic,
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22 many gaming companies have adopted measures such as salary reductions, flexible work, job
23 rotation, and unpaid leave. When employees encounter salary or position bottlenecks,
24 especially at career plateaus, it will lead to a lack of motivation and a considerable reduction
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25 in work performance and yield negative impacts on individuals and enterprises (Kwon, 2022).
26 Therefore, it is a new theoretical and practical requirement to adjust the human resource
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management strategy to adapt to environmental changes and reduce its negative impact on
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29 career plateaus, organizational commitment, and job burnout.
30 As analyzed above, this study aims to explore the relationship between career plateaus,
31 organizational commitment, and job burnout. It examines how flexible work and job rotation
32 moderate career plateau ward job burnout in response to the pandemic impact. The theory and
33 practice of career management are expected to substantiate suggestions for organizational
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commitment and job burnout to the interdisciplinary implications for academia and practice.
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36
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37 2 Literature review
38 2.1 Career plateau commitment to the organization
39 Career plateau involves promotion, mobility, and responsibility of employees in an
40 organization and refers to a stage in their career journey, in which the individual's further
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41 promotion is stagnant (Ference et al., 1977). However, it is not enough to understand the career
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plateau only from the perspective of promotion. Employees' movement within an organization
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44 occurs vertically and horizontally (Veiga, 1981). Therefore, a career plateau is a lack of career
45 change, which is closely related to the promotion and job transformation of the individual. In
46 addition, a career plateau can be regarded as the peak point of an individual's career, the relative
47 termination of work responsibilities and challenges in the upward movement, and a stagnation
48 period in the individual's career development, in which not everyone has to go through the
49 career plateau. Bardwick (1986) proposed two types of career plateau concepts: structure
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plateau and content plateau. Based on the career plateau concept of Bardwick, Milliman (1992)
52 proposed a two-dimension career plateau that comprised a hierarchical plateau and a content
53 plateau, it has also been widely adopted by follow-up studies. Palmero et al. (2001) believed
54 that career plateaus include three dimensions: objective plateaus, internal subjective plateaus,
55 and external subjective plateaus.
56 Organizational commitment is the attitude of employees toward the organization. It is
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used to test the degree of loyalty of employees to the enterprise. The psychological
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phenomenon of employees staying in the organization is a final result of their increasing
60 investment in the organization. Commitment is an economic tool (Becker, 1960).
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3 Organizational commitment is the relative strength of an individual's identification and
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involvement with a particular organization, which is closely related to the firm belief in
6 accepting organizational goals and values, the strong motivation to work for the benefit of the
7 organization, and the desire to maintain relationships with an organization (Mowday et al.,
8 1979). In addition, organizational commitment is a positive recognition of the attitude or
9 emotion of an individual actor towards an organization where an individual agrees with the
10 values and norms of the organization and is enthusiastic to absorb the organization's
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instructions and arrangements into his conduct code (O'Reilly & Chatman, 1986). Hence,
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Organizational commitment is similar to an individual's identification with an organization and
14 will lead to particular behaviors beyond those roles within a contract. Employees with
15 organizational commitment have a robust sense of identity and belonging to the organization
16 (Martin, 2007). Allen and Meyer developed the measurement of organizational commitment
17 consisting of organizational commitment, continuing commitment, and normative commitment.
18 Career plateaus negatively impact organizational commitment and show lower work
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performance once employees have fewer opportunities for promotion in an organization (Allen
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21 et al., 1999; Xie & Long, 2008). Studies have shown that when individuals feel at a career
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22 plateau, they will express lower organizational commitments (Elass & Ralston, 1989; Rotondo
23 & Perrewé, 2000). Therefore, when lacking promotion opportunities and limited space for
24 development in the organization, employees' work enthusiasm and organizational commitment
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25 will drop significantly (Antony, 2018; Lin & Chen, 2021). Therefore, this study proposes the
26 following hypotheses:
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H1: Career plateaus negatively impact organizational commitment
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30 2.2 Career plateau and job burnout
31 Job burnout is a state of work failure, energy exhaustion, and physical and mental
32 exhaustion that occurs when the work requires excessive ability, energy, and resources from
33 the individual. It is a series of symptoms related to work. The manifestation of occupational
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burnout is the negative form displayed by the combination of employees' work attitudes and
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behaviors and it will continue to deepen the process (Cherniss, 1980). If the target, ambitions,
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37 and expectations of the employee are not fulfilled, it will cause job burnout (Stanley, 2009).
38 Leiter & Maslach (1988) stated that job burnout consists of three subdivided dimensions:
39 emotional exhaustion, low personal achievement, and lack of human touch. Maslach et al.
40 (2001) believe that the subdivision dimensions of job burnout are Negative Snub, Affectional
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41 Depletion, and Low Career Performance. Burnout is a persistent, negative psychological state
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that triggers frequently in ordinary labor and is closely related to occupations. Exhaustion is
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44 one of its most crucial elements had decreased motivation, decreased effectiveness, restlessness,
45 and negative attitudes of employees. Other undesirable phenomena are accompanied by
46 (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Lee & Ashforth (1993) believed that job burnout is a bad state
47 that occurs because of excessive demands on employees who should provide professional
48 services in resources and capabilities, making employees unable to better deal with service
49 objects. Employees feel helpless with long-term fatigue, and their life and work are affected by
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negative attitudes and ideas (Gonzalez, 1997; Stanley, 2009)
52 Currently, bulks of research have not reached a consensus regarding the relationship
53 between career plateaus and job burnout (Salvagioni et al., 2017). Feldman and Weitz (1984)
54 proposed that job burnout leads to a career plateau, and job performance has a mediating role
55 in the middle. They believe that career plateaus are the result of job burnout. On the contrary,
56 Wolf (1983) believed that employees' aggressiveness and work enthusiasm were adversely
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affected by career plateaus, which further made employees feel job burnout, and thereby
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employees at career plateaus effortlessly led to job burnout. Steven and Dvorah (1994) believed
60 that there is an interaction between career plateaus and job burnout. Long working hours and
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3 high work intensity are the main reasons for career plateaus. In return, when the company
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rewards without corresponding promotions or salary increases, employees will feel burnout,
6 and the career plateau will also increase and continue to deepen (Edú-Valsania et al., 2022).
7 Job burnout affects employees' participation in work, and their enthusiasm for work will also
8 decrease, resulting in a decline in job satisfaction, weakening organizational commitment, and
9 even forming personal turnover intentions (Schaufeli et al., 2009, Hofstetter & Cohen, 2014).
10 Beheshtifar (2017) found in the exploration of the relationship between hospital staff's career
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plateau and job burnout that nurses' career plateau (two dimensions of content plateau and
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hierarchical plateau) has a significant relationship with job burnout. Marjan and Soraya (2014)
14 found through a sample study of 537 university librarians that librarians' career plateaus
15 (hierarchical plateau and content plateaus) and job burnout rates were higher than the average.
16 Therefore, career plateaus positively impact job burnout (Tremblay et al., 1995; Xie & Long,
17 2008). Therefore, this study proposes the following hypotheses:
18 H2: The Dutch career plateau has a positive effect on job burnout.
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21 2.3 Career plateau, organizational commitment, and job burnout
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22 Organizational commitment is often defined to be negatively related to job burnout (Porter

23 et al., 1974; Sterrs & porter, 1990; Yang et al., 2019). Organizational commitment can
24 negatively predict job burnout (Ahmadi & Nadi, 2019). Xie and Long (2008) found a negative
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25 correlation between organizational commitment and job burnout, and employees with lower
26 organizational commitment had higher job burnout. Employees with high organizational
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commitment have a high degree of recognition and acceptance of the organization, and thereby
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29 can find more satisfaction in the organization, are willing to invest more energy and time in the
30 organization, further strengthen employees' identification with the organization, and reduce job
31 burnout (Kao et al., 2022). Employees can't feel the care and attention of others and the
32 organization and have a career plateau perception, so they won't have a high commitment to
33 the organization and are reluctant to stay here for a long time to work seriously, which will
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affect their final job burnout (Kwon, 2022). Therefore, this study proposes the following
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hypotheses:
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37 H3: Organizational commitment negatively impacts job burnout.

38 H4: Organizational commitment mediates the relationship between career plateau and job
39 burnout.
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41 2.4 Flexible work, job rotation, career plateau, organizational commitment, job burnout
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Organizational support is a crucial factor affecting employees' psychological cognition,
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44 which can bring about psychological resources to employees and affect their career
45 development (Kraimer et al., 2011). Organizational support concerns whether the organization
46 offers stagnant employees anything to compensate them for promotions or job challenges
47 (Abele et al., 2011). Lapalme et al. (2009) observed that perceived organizational support
48 mediates organizational commitment. Lack of support and management may help explain why
49 stagnant workers have poorer work outcomes (Karatepe & Olugbade, 2016; Gerpott & Domsch,
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1987). Career plateaus negatively affect organizational commitment and bring other work
52 outcomes (Nachbagauer & Riedl, 2002; Yang et al., 2019). Therefore, organizations providing
53 support can negatively mediate the relationship between burnout and subsequence outcomes
54 such as job performance and satisfaction (Jiang, 2016).
55 Flextime includes working hours at work, that is, flexibility in office scheduling, such as
56 providing employees with alternative work schedules, including flexibility in tasks (such as job
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sharing), and flexibility in work location by organizations. It also promotes a balance between
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work and personal commitments while providing alternative ways of getting work done, such
60 as hours, locations, work structures, etc. Almer and Kalpan (2000) stated that flexible work
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3 tends to change the nature and workload, thereby positively affecting employee behavior,
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employee productivity levels can be improved, and employees can balance their personal and
6 professional lives (Sullivan & Lewis, 2001). Carlson (2005) argues that employees whose
7 organizations allow flexibility in their jobs are more loyal and loyal and play a vital role in the
8 success of the organization, so workplace flexibility has a positive impact on employee
9 commitment. Glass (2004) suggested that low levels of employee commitment may negatively
10 impact flexible work. If organizations successfully implement flexible working hours, work
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procrastination can be reduced, and employee commitment can be increased (Sullivan & Lewis,
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2001).
14 Therefore, by providing employees with alternatives such as job rotation to solve the
15 career plateau problem, the organization may also get some rewards in other ways, thus
16 regulating the norm of reciprocity between the organization and the individual (Gouldner,
17 1960). Therefore, organizational policies to counteract career plateaus should buffer the
18 relationship between perceived career plateaus and lacking support of the organization, and
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ultimately reduce the negative effects of career plateaus (Das & Teng, 2002). Employees at
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21 career plateaus are already familiar with their jobs, which will reduce job satisfaction and
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22 organizational commitment, and cause job burnout once they feel that they cannot learn new
23 knowledge and skills from their current jobs (Yang et al., 2018). Therefore, flexible working
24 activities play a crucial role in promoting the learning and development of employees, as well
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25 as strengthening their commitment to the organization (Tripathy, 2020). In addition, the

26 organization supports job rotation within the organization. Employees with stagnant career
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development can either move vertically and get promoted to a higher level or move horizontally
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29 to learn new knowledge and skills from new jobs and improve their work capabilities. Lay the
30 foundation for future career development and reduce job burnout caused by career plateaus
31 (Campion et al., 1994; Ference et al., 1997). Job rotation may be a temporary solution during
32 the COVID-19 pandemic (Kwon, 2022). Therefore, this study proposes the following
33 hypotheses:
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H5: Flexible work positively moderates career plateau toward organizational commitment.
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H6: Job rotation negatively moderates career plateau toward job burnout.
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38 3 Research Design
39 3.1 Scale
40 The career plateau measurement tool was mainly referred to and draws on the
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41 organizational commitment structure scale of Allen & Meyer (1990). The organizational
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commitment scale had 9 measurement indicators: organizational commitment (3 items),
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44 continuous commitment (3 items) normative commitment (3 items). The job burnout
45 measurement tool had 7 measures referring to the scale of Maslach, Jackson & Leiter (1996).
46 The moderating variable was measured by employees' perceptions of flexible work and job
47 rotation during the COVID-19 epidemic.
48 3.2 Data
49 This study takes six gaming companies in Macau as the research object. The non-random
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convenience sampling method is used in the questionnaire survey to obtain the questionnaire
52 data required for this study. To verify the above research hypotheses, a survey was conducted
53 targeting dealers in six resorts in Macau using a random convenient sampling method. The
54 survey was conducted from January 8, 2022, to February 2, 2022. 6 students who worked in
55 six resorts distributed the questionnaires at the exit of each casino when dealers’ job shifts. A
56 total of 360 questionnaires were distributed, and 285 valid questionnaires were recovered, with
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a validity rate of 81.4%.
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60 4 Results
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3 4.1 Sample
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The general characteristics of the sample were as follows (Table 1). The population had a
6 balanced distribution between 144 males (50.53%) and 141 women (49.47%). 63 (22.1%) of
7 respondents were unmarried, and 222 (77.9%) were married. In terms of the age of the
8 respondents, the 21-30 age group is the majority, with 66 (23.2%), followed by the 31-40 age
9 group 130 (45.6%), 41-50 age group 64 (22.5%), and 51 and above age group (8.8%).
10 Education was confirmed as 107 (37.5%) were in junior high school or below, 111 (38.9%)
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were in high school, and 67 (23.5%) were at university or above. 208 (73%) respondents were
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dealers, 65 (22.8%) respondents were supervisors, and 12 (4.2%) respondents were pit
14 managers. Seniority was confirmed to be 83 (29.1%) within 4 years, 149 (52.3%) in 5-10 years,
15 49 (17.2%) in 11-15 years, and 4 (1.5%) over 15 years. The firms of the respondents were 41
16 (14.4%) from Macau Entertainment, 61 (21.4%) from MGM China, 56 (19.6%) from Melco
17 Entertainment, 71 (24.9%) from Wynn China, 41 (14.4%) from Sands China and 15 (5.3%)
18 from Galaxy Entertainment.
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The skewness and kurtosis of the scale were used to test the normal distribution of the
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21 sample. The absolute value of the bias of all measurement items was less than 3, and the
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22 absolute value of the kurtosis was less than 10. So, it can be considered that each item of the
23 sample data meets the normal distribution requirements, and further SEM analysis can be
24 carried out (Gao et al., 2008).
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26 Table 1 The sample description（n=285 ）
27 Frequency Percentage
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28 Gender Female 141 49.47

29 Male 144 50.53
30 Marriage Unmarried 63 22.1
31 Married 222 77.9
32 Age 21-30 66 23.2
33 31-40 130 45.6
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41-50 64 22.5
34 51 and above 25 8.8
35 Education Junior high school 107 37.5
36 High school 111 38.9
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37 University and above 67 23.5

38 Position Dealer 208 73
39 Supervisor 65 22.8
Pit manager 12 4.2
40 Seniority 4 years and bellow 83 29.1
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41 5-10 years 149 52.3

42 11-15 years 49 17.2
43 15 years and above 4 1.5
44 Firm Macau Entertainment 41 14.4
45 MGM China 61 21.4
Melco Entertainment 56 19.6
46
Wynn China, 71 24.9
47 Sands China 41 14.4
48 Galaxy Entertainment 15 5.3
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50 SPSS.26.0 software was employed to test the construct validity of each dimension. The KMO
51 value was 0.897 (>0.70), and the Bartlett value was 2581.063 (P = 0.00), indicating that the scale was
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suitable for factor analysis. Following the Main Component Analysis Method, the factor whose
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54 eigenvalue was higher than 1.0 was extracted, and 3 common factors were extracted. The cumulative
55 sum of squares of rotation was 57.883, which is close to 60%. The remaining 21 items are classified as
56 3 factors by the orthogonal rotation method. Each loading value was higher than 0.5, indicating that the
57 scale in this study had good construct validity.
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3 The Cronbach's Alpha coefficients of each latent variable were higher than 0.7, indicating that the
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internal consistency of the questionnaire is relatively high and the questionnaire has good reliability
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6 (Miller,1995). In the test of the Common Method Variance (CMV) of the questionnaire, the population
7 variance was interpreted as 24.10 % (<50%) (Williams et al., 2010), indicating that there is no Common
8 Method Deviation.
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10 4.2 Measurement
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12 AMOS26.0 was used to examine convergence and discriminant validity (see Table 2). As
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14
a result, the factor loadings of each item in the scale were above 0.5, indicating that it was
15 considered appropriate convergence validity (Hair et al.,2010). The composite reliability (CR)
16 was higher than 0.7, signifying that all questions in each latent variable can be interpreted
17 consistently. The average variance extracted (AVE) value is above 0.4 (Fornell & Larcker,
18 1981; Lam, 2012). Additionally, the square root of the AVE is larger than the correlation
19 coefficient between the latent variables (see Table 3), indicating that the scale has an accepted
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discriminant validity (Hair et al., 1998).
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Table 2 Confirmatory factors
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Item Loading SMC CR AVE
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Career In this company, I have limited space for promotion 0.817 0.667 0.774 0.422
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plateau
26 I can’t get a higher position in this company 0.842 0.709
27 At present, I work for a company where I can display my 0.453 0.205
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28 talents
29 To remain with the company, I will accept any work 0.517 0.267
30 placement
31 I am glad to have chosen to work for this company 0.512 0.262
32 Burnout I felt a Lack of rest throughout the year 0.74 0.548 0.824 0.404
33
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My work has no autonomy and it requires the supervisor to 0.61 0.372

34 check on
35 I did more work than I got a return 0.719 0.517
36 Individuals in the company do not take care of each other 0.644 0.415
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I think my company makes money first, profit-oriented 0.578 0.334
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39 I am inconsistent with the company's management philosophy 0.55 0.303
40 I feel like the company is not fair 0.584 0.341
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41 Organizationa I will honestly tell my friends that my company is a pleasant 0.699 0.489 0.899 0.502
42 l commitment place to work
43 To stay in the company, I will accept any work arrangements 0.803 0.645
44 On any occasion, I will remember myself as a member of the 0.677 0.458
45 company
46 My current job in the company can use my talents 0.735 0.540
47 I am happy that I chose to work for this company 0.924 0.854
48
If there is a similar job or treatment, I will leave the company 0.689 0.475
49
50 I disagree with the company's measures for managing 0.546 0.298
employees
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The company is a great place to work 0.616 0.379
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53 I care about the company's profit or loss 0.62 0.384
54
55 To examine the model fit index to evaluate the overall fit of confirmatory factor analysis.
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The X2 / df value was 1.917 (356.626/186 (Homburg et al., 1998), the GFI value was 0.889,
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58 the AGFI value was 0.863 (Baozi & Yi,1988), the NFI value was 0.866 (Bollen,1989), the TLI
59 value was 0.921 (Homburg & Baumgartner,1996), the CFI value was 0.930 (Bentler,1990),
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3 and the RMSEA value was 0.057 (Browne & Cudeck, 1993) were satisfactory with ideal values.
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5 Thus, the overall fit of the model was acceptable.
6
7 4.2 Hypothesis testing
8 The results of correlation analysis (see Table 3) show that the correlation coefficients of
9 career plateau to organizational commitment and job burnout were -0.379 (P < 0.001)
10 and .504(P < 0.001), with a significant negative correlation to career plateau and a significant
11 positive correlation to job burnout. The correlation coefficient between organizational
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commitment and burnout was -.375 (P< 0.001), with a significant negative correlation. Thus,
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14
Hypotheses H1, H2, and H3 were supported.
15
16 Table 3 Correlation coefficient
17 Correlations
N=285 MD S. E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
18
CP 3.106 0.823 0.650
19
OC 3.096 0.849 -.379** 0.709
20 JB 3.192 0.727 .504** -.375** 0.636
21 Age 2.170 0.884 -.136* 0.03 -0.011 1
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22 Gender 0.510 0.501 -0.079 0.056 -0.044 -0.066 1

23 Marriage 0.780 0.416 -0.012 0.063 -0.102 -.167** -0.003 1
24 Education 1.860 0.767 0.05 -0.024 0.038 -.265** -0.085 -0.012 1
Position 1.310 0.548 -.181** .154** -0.082 0.015 0.013 0.041 .267**
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Seniority 2.310 1.088 -.626** .378** -.344** .290** 0.039 -0.045 -0.036 .235**
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**p<0.001； CP= Career plateau; JB= Job burnout; OC=Organizational commitment. The square root of AVE (bold values)
27
is shown in parenthesis demonstrating discriminant validity
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29 Further, to examine control variables influencing career plateaus, organizational
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31
commitments, and job burnout. The control variables were gender, age, marriage, seniority,
32 education, and position, which were added to the regression equation through the enter method.
33 The independent variable was added to the regression equation using the stepwise method. The
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34 results showed no multicollinearity between the independent variables (see Table 4). Thus, it
35 is found that seniority has a controlling effect.
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37 Table 4 Hierarchical regression of organizational commitment and burnout on career plateaus

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39 Dependent variable: Job burnout
M1 M2 M3
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41 B SE t B SE t B SE t
42 Control variable
43 Seniority -0.23 0.037 -6.169** -0.158 0.039 -4.078** 0.002 0.044 0.038
Independent variable
44 OC -0.245 0.05 --4.934** -0.184 0.047 -3.895**
45 CP 0.375 0.058 6.474**
46 R2 0.119 0.189 0.294
47 f 38.054** 62.40** 104.317**
48 △ R2 0.07 0.105
49 ΔF 24.346** 41.917**
50 **p<0.01
51
52 4.5 Mediation and Moderation Effect Test
53 First, SPSS26 PROCESE2.16 software was employed to examine the mediating
54 relationship between career plateau, organizational commitment, and job burnout (see Table
55
5). The confidence intervals of the standardized total effect, indirect effect, and direct effect of
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57
career plateau and organizational commitment on job burnout did not include 0, indicating that
58 the model had total, indirect, and direct effects that were all significant and positive.
59 Additionally, the direct and indirect effects of organizational commitment were significant,
60 suggesting that organizational commitment partially mediates the relationship between career
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3 plateaus and job burnouts. Therefore, career plateau and organizational commitment directly
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affected job burnout, career plateau also influenced organizational commitment, and then
6 organizational commitment affected job burnout. Thus, hypothesis H4 was supported.
7
8 Table 5 Mediating effect test of OC as a mediator
9 Model Summary
10 R R-sq MSE f df1 df2
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0.504 0.254 0.396 96.581 1 283
12
13 Total effect of CP on JB
14 Effect SE t p LLCI ULCI
15 0.446 0.045 9.828 0 0.356 0.535
16 Direct effect of CP on JB
17
Effect SE t p LLCI ULCI
18
19 0.374 0.048 7.821 0 0.28 0.468
20 Indirect effect of CP on JB
21 Effect Boot SE BootLLCI BootULCI
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22 OC 0.072 0.021 0.035 0.117

23
Normal theory tests for indirect effect
24
Effect se Z p
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26 0.072 0.021 3.414 0.001
27 CP = Career plateau; OC = Organizational commitment; JB = Job burnout
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30 Secondly, SPSS26. PROCESE2.16 software was employed to analyze the moderating
31 effects of flexible work and job rotation between career plateaus, organizational commitment,
32
and job burnout (see Table 6). Job rotation had a negative moderating effect on the relationship
33
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34 between career plateau and organizational commitment, and the moderating effect is shown in
35 Figure 1. Flexible work had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between career
36 plateau and job burnout, and the moderating effect is shown in Figure 2. Thus, hypotheses H5
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37 and H6 are supported.

38
39 Table 6 Test of moderation effect of flexible working and job rotation
40 Model1 R R-sq MSE F df1 df2 p
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41 0.406 0.165 0.609 18.474 3 281 0

42 coeff SE t p LLCI ULCI
constant 3.092 0.046 66.866 0 3.001 3.183
43
JR 0.034 0.035 0.987 0.325 -0.034 0.103
44 CP -0.384 0.056 -6.829 0 -0.495 -0.274
45 int_1 -0.101 0.042 -2.416 0.016 -0.183 -0.019
46 Product terms key:
47 int_1 CP X JR
48 R-square increase due to interaction(s):
R2- F df1 df2 p
49
chng
50 int_1 0.017 5.836 1 281 0.016
51 Model 2 R R-sq MSE F df1 df2 p
52 0.526 0.277 0.387 35.899 3 281 0
53 coeff SE t p LLCI ULCI
54 constant 3.198 0.037 86.669 0 3.125 3.27
55 FW 0.034 0.029 1.187 0.236 -0.023 0.091
56 CP 0.433 0.045 9.603 0 0.344 0.521
57 int_1 -0.091 0.035 -2.638 0.009 -0.159 -0.023
58 Product terms key:
int_1 CP X FW
59 R-square increase due to interaction(s):
60 R2- F df1 df2 p
 Tourism Review Page 10 of 15

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3 chng
4 int_1 0.018 6.957 1 281 0.009
5 CP = career plateau; OC = organizational commitment; FW = flexible working; J R = job rotation
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59 Figure 2. Moderating effects of flexible working
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Page 11 of 15 Tourism Review

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3 5. Conclusions
4
5
5.1 Discussions
6 This study is different from previous studies in that it selects job burnout as the outcome
7 variable of career plateau, designs a model of career plateau, organizational commitment, and
8 job burnout, and tests the proposed hypotheses through the sample data of employees in resorts
9 of Macao, and focuses on The adjustment of human resources policy under the COVID-19
10 epidemic verifies the moderating effect of flexible work and job rotation on the relationship
11
between career plateau, organizational commitment, and job burnout. Accordingly, the specific
12
13
conclusions are as follows.
14 First, the results revealed that career plateau negatively influences organizational
15 commitment, indicating that individuals show lower organizational commitment when they
16 feel that they are at a career plateau, which is consistent with many previous research results
17 (Allen et al., 1999; Elass & Ralston,1989; Xie & Long, 2008). Organizational commitment is
18 expressed as the long-term non-contractual trust relationship formed for employees with their
19
organization. However, when the promotion space and mobility in the organization hinder
20
21 personal career development or make them feel hopeless, the sense of belonging to the
To

22 organization will be reduced.

23 Second, the results revealed that career plateau positively impacts job burnout, indicating
24 that the higher the level of the career plateau, the higher their job burnout, which is consistent
ur

25 with many previous research results (Gonzalez, 1997; Stanley, 2009). Though the findings
26 indicated a positive relationship between career plateau and job burnout, but can't exclude other
27
factors that might influence job burnout as well (Steven & Dvorah, 1994). This may be because
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29 employees at the career plateau when their efforts are not rewarded accordingly, and thereby
30 when the company does not reward employees with corresponding promotions or salary
31 increases, employees will have a feeling of job burnout (Edú-Valsania et al., 2022).
32 Additionally, under this atmosphere with the small space for movement, employees cannot
33 improve themselves by absorbing related new knowledge and work skills, as well as fewer
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authority rights, responsibilities, or organizational resources, it is hard to experience
35
36
accomplishment and a successful career, to maintain loyalty to the organization (Beheshtifar,
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37 2017).
38 In addition, the seniority of the respondents had a significant controlling effect in this
39 study, meaning that seniority was negatively related to career plateau, positively related to
40 organizational commitment, and negatively related to job burnout. It shows that employees
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41 with high seniority in the organization have low career plateau, high organizational
42
commitment, and low job burnout.
43
44 Third, the results revealed that organizational commitment has a partial mediating effect
45 between career plateau and job burnout. This indicates that increasing organizational
46 commitment can reduce the impact of career plateau on burnout reduction (Porter et al., 1974;
47 Sterrs & porter, 1990). From the perspective of the hierarchical plateau, when the organization
48 has limited promotion space, employees' organizational commitment and continuous
49 commitment must be affected, but the development space of the organization is relatively stable
50
51
(Ahmadi & Nadi, 2019; Kwon, 2022). From the perspective of the content plateau, it affects
52 employees’ organizational commitment and continuous commitment, but relative changes in
53 job content can change their organizational commitment (Godshalk & Fender, 2015; Kao et
54 al., 2022), further strengthening employees' organizational commitment. Changing job content
55 can be a viable path for a company's human resource policy.
56 Fourth, the results revealed that flexible work moderates career plateau toward
57
organizational commitment with a negative impact coefficient, which is consistent with the
58
59
results of many previous studies (Nachbagauer & Riedl, 2002; Yang et al., 2019). Under the
60 influence of COVID-19, organizations can effectively reduce the negative impact of career
 Tourism Review Page 12 of 15

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3 plateaus on organizational commitment through flexible work of support activity by the
4
5
organization (Rawashdeh & Tamimi, 2019; Tripathy, 2020), thereby reducing employee
6 burnout. In addition, the results revealed that job rotation moderates career plateau toward job
7 burnout with a negative impact coefficient, indicating that appropriate job rotation can increase
8 the effect of career plateau on job burnout (Xie & Long, 2008; Kwon, 2022). Under the
9 influence of the COVID-19 epidemic, employees are not inclined to change jobs, and job
10 switching increases personal burnout. Job rotation is not an available HR strategy in the long
11
term.
12
13
14 5.2 Conclusions
15 The study results show that enhancing employees' sense of belonging to the organization
16 has the effect of reducing the career plateau period under the influence of COVID-19,
17 especially for employees who lose confidence in job prospects, lack passion for work content,
18 and results, as well as drastically reducing work efficiency. In the career arrangement of resorts
19
for their employees, in the case of limited positions or position space, it is of practical
20
21 significance to adopt appropriate human resource strategies to enhance employees'
To

22 organizational commitment.
23
24 The results showed that most of the employees in Huohe are 35-42 years old. When the
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25 skills of the job become more and more proficient, the repetitive work content day after day
26 makes people feel bored, the appreciation space is low, and it is easiest to enter the plateau
27
period of a career. Even if the employee's work performance and ability are outstanding, they
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29 are no longer recognized due to the lack of breakthroughs. The dealer's salary is higher than
30 the local average in Macau. Although employees will not be dissatisfied with their jobs, career
31 plateaus will have a positive impact on their job burnout through increasing positive
32 organizational support activities, such as flexible work and job switching, to reduce this impact,
33 it may be an effective way for Macau resorts to cope with changes in the future external
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34
environment.
35
36
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37 5.3 limitations
38 There are several research limitations to this study. First, this study only selected dealers
39 who are the most typical representatives of the Macau gaming industry. Further research can
40 enlarge to other occupations in these industries. Second, the factors that lead to employee career
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41 plateaus are diverse. This article only discusses the effect of organizational human resource
42
policy intervention from the perspective of an organization. Employee organizational career
43
44 plateaus are affected by individual characteristics and organizational socialization of the
45 individual, and self-efficacy and follow-up research can be conducted from these perspectives.
46 Third, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic is diverse, including changes in employees'
47 working conditions and income, which may affect career plateaus. The analysis of these factors
48 in future models will have more theoretical and practical significance.
49
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