International Conference on Business & Information 2013 ISBN 978-955-4563-17-9 1 EFFECT OF DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ON SUBJECTIVE CAREER PLATEAU: EVIDENCE FROM EXECUTIVES IN BANKING INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA Bandula Lanka Galhena 1 and Dilusha Madushanka Liyanage 2 1 Faculty of Management & Finance, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka 2 Faculty of Management & Finance, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka Abstract Career plateau received considerable attention over the past few decades in career management literature. Extant literature suggests that employees who do not receive promotional opportunities (career plateaued) are dissatisfied with the firm, less committed and more likely to quit from the organization. Thus, exploring the determinants, consequences and coping strategies of career plateau is paramount important. However, very little attention up to date has been made exploring determinants of subjective career plateau in developing countries. Thus, this study explores the effect of demographic variables on subjective career plateau in Sri Lankan context. Data for the present study were collected from 170 executives from the private banks in Sri Lanka using a self-administered questionnaire. Since promotion policies are different from public to private sector, only private sector banks were selected. Independent sample t-test and multiple regression analysis run to test the hypotheses. Multiple regressions revealed that locus of control, educational level and civil status are the significant predictors of the subjective career plateau. Further, independent sample t- test revealed that there is a significant difference of subjective career plateau between gender and educational qualification of the respondents. Findings of the study would be important to managers particularly in designing effective career management programs to motivate employees. Limitations and opportunities for the further studies are discussed. Keywords: Subjective Career Plateau, Demographic variables, Executives, Banking industry