Being a Mentor is a Matter: The Relationships among Career Plateau, Subjective Well-Being, and Mentoring

Abstract

無中文摘要According to technological advancements and fluctuating markets, employees are forced to face more competitive and stricter work environment. When employees reach career plateau, their subjective well-being decreases. However, based on the exchange theory, experienced employees can relieve the negative work outcomes via mentorship. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between career plateau and subjective well-being, and mentoring served as a moderator in the relationship. The sample was 501 full-time workers in an organization in Taiwan. This study adopted a quantitative research design and collected data using paper-based and online questionnaires to test the research hypotheses. SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 were used to analyze hierarchical regression and confirmatory factor analysis. The results supported that plateaued employees had lower subjective well-being, and interaction of mentoring and career plateau had an effect on subjective well-being. Furthermore, this study compared the difference of slopes, and the results indicated that when job content plateaued employees provided career-related mentoring, they regained their subjective well-being; similarly, when hierarchically plateaued employees provided psychosocial mentoring, their subjective well-being was restored. According to the results, mentoring can benefit the mentor’s subjective well-being through different functions that have influences of different levels. This study provides human resource evidences of a mentor’s career plateau and their subjective well-being, which also encourages mentorship to enhance their own subjective well-being.