Implications For Workplace Learning Research Articles

Trust disruption and preservation in the Covid-19 work from home context

PurposeThe paper posits that the enforced work from home (WFH) arrangement due to Covid-19 provides a unique setting for the study of trust in changing contexts. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine to what extent Covid-19 WFH changed trust relationships among remote employees, their managers and organisations and how this has taken place.Design/methodology/approachThe study used semi-structured interviews with employees and managers from different organisations across different sectors. Interviews were supported with image prompts as suggested by the storyboarding method, and took place between November 2020 and February 2021. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings identified factors that contribute to trust disruption and factors that led to trust preservation within the changing workspace landscape enforced by WFH environment. Employees reported trust in their organisations, feeling as though their organisations proven resilient at the time of the crisis caused by the pandemic. Interestingly, managers reported trust in employees to remain productive but also anxieties due to the possible presence of others in the household.Originality/valueThe study identified factors that affect intra-organisational trust that have not been previously recognised, exposing tensions and challenges that may disrupt trust relations between managers and employees whilst also identifying evidence of trust preservation in the Covid-19 WFH context. The study has implications for workplace learning within the remote, WFH context, which are discussed.

Breaking the silence of psychological impact while working from home during COVID: implications for workplace learning

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has led to alternative work arrangements for many organizations. Working from home (WFH) is an example, but it could lead to psychological effects affecting employees’ attitudes and behaviour towards their work. This paper aims to explore the psychological impact of WFH on learning and work engagement. A case study of a multinational training academy was conducted over a 12-month period through telephone and virtual calls, reaching out to a total of 1,318 employees. WFH arrangements can be classified into planned (expected) and unplanned (unexpected). Employees in the planned arrangement coped better due to sufficient psychological preparation than the unplanned group that experienced psychological disorientation with WFH transitions. Despite initial resistance, the planned group gradually accepted the arrangement and was able to regulate their psychological response with a longer-term view of their work. In contrast, the unplanned group reacted with stronger emotion and adopted a transient view of their work. The paper extends the concept of work-life boundaries and learning orientation based on WFH transitions. It also contributes to workplace learning from the job demand-resources perspective in relation to work engagement. This research gives voice to employees working in isolation, helping them reconnect with themselves to navigate through uncertainty from the HRD perspective.

Information sharing, self‐directed learning and its implications for workplace learning

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between self‐directed learning readiness (SDLR) of business students in Germany and the USA and their attitudes towards information sharing and to ascertain implications for workplace learning.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study used a survey research design.FindingsThe study finds that surveyed US business students have higher SDLR scores than their German counterparts, implying that they are more self‐directed when it comes to learning. In both countries, the higher the SDLR score of a person, the more likely this person is willing to share information. The motivation behind it is primarily to help others. This means that employees with high SDLR scores can support and foster workplace learning as they distribute information more freely.Originality/valueThe findings are significant because the relation between SDLR and information sharing, as well as the implications for workplace learning, have not been analyzed in previous studies. Additionally, the international focus of the research adds a cross‐cultural perspective to the debate in self‐directed learning.

Valuing the Gilbert Model

Leaders such as Thomas Gilbert, Geary Rummier, and Edward Deming have argued that the greatest leverage for solving performance problems lies with solutions targeted at system or environmental factors (those under the control of management) versus individual performer factors. A 12-item research instrument titled Achieving Productive Performance (APP) was developed based on the six variables that make up Gilbert's human performance model. MBA candidates whoworkfull-time primarily in middle management positions were asked to make value judgments on strategies for producing productive performance (where value for the performance exceeds the costs), Results support the concept of leverage espoused by Gilbert, Rummier, and Deming. Implications for workplace learning and performance professionals are discussed.

Re‐defining the focus of workplace learning

Advances the view that workplace learning approaches should no longer be driven by content, but should be more learner centred. Argues this case through a model of leadership maturity in which individual learners discern personal meaning from events around them. Applies this to the case of Interbrew UK, where challenging strategic objectives are being met by an innovative action learning approach that is supported by detailed primary research. Concludes that action learning has real power to make personal sense of learning in the workplace, but that learning effectiveness will depend on the individual’s level of maturity. Offers implications for workplace learning at Interbrew and for organizations in general.

Job change and workplace learning in the public sector: the significance of new technology for unskilled work

Focussing here on local authorities and health services, this paper examines the significance of new technology to unskilled work in the public sector as it is developing and the implications for workplace learning. An argument is developed that new technology is central to a minority of examples of job change, although, significantly, it is more important to staff–initiated change and to workers’ ability to fully participate in life beyond the workplace.

Free agent learners: the new career model and its impact on human resource development

Changes in the job market are affecting how employees view their current positions and careers leading to more employees (so-called ‘free agents’) developing portfolio careers. To maintain their long-term employability, free agents need to continually enhance and expand their expertise, knowledge-base, reputation and networks, and it has been argued that this will influence how employees view and approach their workplace learning. This article reports the findings of qualitative research aimed at exploring the free agent concept, the implications for workplace learning and the implications for human resource development (HRD) functions in organizations. The research used a convenience sample of 11 organizations from three continents, with data collected from senior HRD executives through telephone and face-toface interviews and e-mails. The results highlighted how some employees are changing their attitudes towards workplace learning, particularly those considered ‘high potential’ or working in ‘high tech’ positions. The research also identified how organizations are increasingly viewing learning as a means of attracting and retaining high quality employees, with implications for HRD functions in terms of a greater emphasis on delivery methods for learning beyond traditional training and greater emphasis on career development activities.

The Pygmalion effect reconsidered: its implications for education, training and workplace learning

Reviews the literature on the Pygmalion effect and in particular its implications for workplace learning and training. The article considers the wide ranging debate within the education literature on the value of the Pygmalion concept and also considers research conducted in training and workplace settings. The implications of the concept for learning design, trainee self‐esteem, trainer behaviours, and workplace learning are considered.