Throwaway knowledge, useful skills or a source for wellbeing? Outlining sustainability of workplace learning situations

ABSTRACT

Rapid changes in working life have raised awareness of the need for lifelong learning among personnel, and there is increasing concern regarding the sustainability of such learning, especially in growth companies, where learning can be seen as a prerequisite for many work practices. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand the sustainability of learning situations from the perspectives of individual wellbeing, widespread use of previous knowledge and rapid application of new knowledge. We broaden the understanding of workplace learning from the perspective of sustainability by identifying different workplace learning situations and outlining the sustainability of these situations. Two Finnish growth companies participated in the study, representing the technology and industrial field. The data consist of 68 interviews, and a qualitative thematic analysis was utilised. The study found three thematic categories of learning situations: technological development, structural changes within the organisation and formal learning situations. Sustainability perspectives manifested in these situations, but both negative and positive aspects of learning were observed. The findings can be utilised in organisations to enable more sustainability in learning. The research reveals a new and critical understanding of the sustainability of workplace learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Workplace learning
• sustainability
• growth companies
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (project number 117300). We would like to thank the target organisations and the participants who voluntarily spent their time with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest is reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Työsuojelurahasto (Finnish Work Environment Fund) [11730].

Notes on contributors

Soila Lemmetty

Soila Lemmetty is a project researcher at the Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä. Currently, her research interests are workplace learning, creativity at work and various leadership practices in work environments.

Kaija Collin

Kaija Collin is a university researcher and adjunct professor. She works at the Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä. Her research interests include workplace learning, professional identity and agency, interprofessional work practices, creativity, leadership and professional development in general and in various organisational contexts. Collin’s work has been widely published internationally, and she has extensive experience supervising doctoral students.