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Article
Publication date: 12 June 2023

John Muzam, Jacek Bendkowski, Pascal Muam Mah and Polycap Mudoh

The study discusses the importance of workplace learning in the current era of work and how organisations are shifting their focus toward employee learning and development. It…

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Abstract

Purpose

The study discusses the importance of workplace learning in the current era of work and how organisations are shifting their focus toward employee learning and development. It highlights the need for employees to continuously up-skill themselves to keep up with the demand for skills. The purpose of this study is to introduce a modern approach to evaluating workplace learning to promote and enhance better performance within the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

It introduces a deep modern learning approach called “behavior-oriented drive and influential functions of formal and informal learning”. The study also develops the concept of the “Study, Plan, Do, Check, and Act” framework to simulate practise and theory within and outside of work to allow continuous improvement, learning new workplace tools, and bridging digital transformation challenges. The study highlights that workplace learning occurs in a variety of contexts and uses various tools, which poses challenges for the design and development of technology that supports and analyses workplace learning.

Findings

Based on behaviour-orientated drive and influential functions for formal and informal learning, a grade of 6.54% days was registered for formal learning tools and 4.89% days for informal learning tools. From the statistics in this study, This study concluded that informal learning tools contribute more to the development of the workplace than formal learning. In informal learning, employees act autonomously at their own will and pace to obtain the required knowledge. The time to acquire knowledge through informal learning tools is shorter than in formal learning. Future relevant research should review more learning tools for formal and informal learning.

Practical implications

Modern workplace learning is a key tool for organisations to gain a competitive advantage. Learning based on formal training and development programs, informal learning and knowledge sharing influence the development of human capital resources.

Originality/value

The study combines social science and engineering approaches to enable non-engineers to pioneer execution of tasks and examine their performance based on the approach detailed in the results, methodology and discussion sections. It contributes to the field of learning organisations and organisational learning by exploring the learning processes of modern professionals. By investigating the learning practices and experiences of knowledge workers, this study seeks to identify the factors that promote or learn and the impact of learning on the workplace.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 July 2020

Md Shariful Alam Khandakar and Faizuniah Pangil

The purpose of this paper is to explain the mediation effect of affective commitment on the relationship between human resource management practices and informal workplace learning

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the mediation effect of affective commitment on the relationship between human resource management practices and informal workplace learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops a conceptual framework along with propositions by integrating comprehensive literatures, in the field of human resource management, affective commitment and informal workplace learning. Through the review of detail literature and based on the situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger, 1991) and organizational support theory (Eisenberger et al., 1986; Rhoades and Eisenberger, 2002; – and Eisenberger, 2006), it is proposed that eight human resource practices could affect informal workplace learning. Moreover, it is also argued that affective commitment could mediate the relationship between HRM practices and informal workplace learning.

Findings

This paper provides a conceptual framework on human resource management practices and informal workplace learning which is mediated by affective commitment.

Originality/value

None of the models presented in the literature details the mediation of affective commitment on the relationship between human resource management practices and informal workplace learning which is mediated by affective commitment as indeed the most recent research on the subject envisages.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2019

Md Shariful Alam Khandakar and Faizuniah Pangil

This study aims to examine the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and informal workplace learning.

2143

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and informal workplace learning.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a sample of 381 employees working as heads of the department of branches in private commercial banks of Bangladesh. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modelling-partial least square.

Findings

Findings of the study revealed that HRM practices such as selective hiring, extensive training, performance appraisal, compensation practices, empowerment and information-sharing, significantly positively related with informal workplace learning.

Originality/value

Based on the situated learning and organizational support theory, this study is empirically testing how HRM practices influence informal workplace learning.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 31 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2021

Morteza Taheri, Sharareh Motealleh and Jalil Younesi

Past research shows that workplace fun has a positive effect on informal learning, however, the role of individual and organizational mediating variables in this relation has not…

1468

Abstract

Purpose

Past research shows that workplace fun has a positive effect on informal learning, however, the role of individual and organizational mediating variables in this relation has not been studied much. This study aims to examine the role of management support, motivation to learn and learning opportunity in the relationship between workplace fun and informal learning.

Design/methodology/approach

In this multivariate correlation study, data were collected through questionnaires. In total, 200 employees of the petrochemical industry participated. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The main finding suggests that motivation to learn contributes to informal learning. Fun in the workplace has a positive and significant indirect effect on informal learning by providing a variety of opportunities to learn; the management support in the final model also mediates the relationship between workplace fun and opportunities to learn.

Practical implications

The results indicate the benefits of creating and maintaining fun in the workplace to improve informal learning. The authors will be better able to advise by providing abundant resources for formal training such as time, learning climate and financial resources, workplace fun can be used as a practical strategy to promote informal learning where the workplace is fun, innovation, creativity and performance improvement occur. Managers should make arrangements to spontaneously motivate employees to learn informally and provide fun and varied opportunities for informal learning.

Originality/value

In this study, the multiple correlations and the effect of motivation variables, learning opportunity and management support in the relationship between workplace fun and informal learning were studied. Examining how these relationships are and identifying the moderator of this relationship because of individual and environmental differences requires further studies.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2022

Amber Yun-Ping Lee, Po-Chien Chang and Heng-Yu Chang

The purpose is to examine the cross-level relationship between workplace fun and informal learning with workplace friendship as a mediator and team climate as a moderator.

1704

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to examine the cross-level relationship between workplace fun and informal learning with workplace friendship as a mediator and team climate as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a two-wave survey procedure, data were collected from 251 employees working across 45 teams of a leading heat transfer manufacturer in Asia. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test our hypothesized cross-level moderated mediation model.

Findings

Out of the three forms of workplace fun, only two – manager support for fun and coworker socializing – supported our hypotheses. Therefore, not all types of workplace fun are equal and one of the key factors through which fun influences informal learning is by maintaining harmonious interpersonal interactions and high relationship quality in teams.

Originality/value

Based on social interdependence theory, this study uncovers the cross-level mechanism of how workplace fun affects informal learning. The findings extend existing research on workplace fun by focusing on not only individual factors but also interpersonal and contextual elements. The findings also provide practical implications for managers to understand the possible impact of workplace fun on employees' informal learning.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2009

Annemarieke Hoekstra, Fred Korthagen, Mieke Brekelmans, Douwe Beijaard and Jeroen Imants

The purpose of this paper is to explore in detail how teachers' perceptions of workplace conditions for learning are related to their informal workplace learning activities and…

3630

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore in detail how teachers' perceptions of workplace conditions for learning are related to their informal workplace learning activities and learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

From a sample of 32 teachers, a purposeful sampling technique of maximal variation was used to select two cases described in this paper. In a mixed methods design quantitative data are used to position the two teachers in relation to their peers. Qualitative data are used to describe the two cases in depth.

Findings

The findings show how the diverging ways in which the two teachers perceive and actively shape their workplace conditions help to explain differences in the teachers' learning activities and learning outcomes.

Originality/value

Scholars have argued that informal workplace learning is embedded in interdependent practices that arise from the interaction between social practices and individual agency. The case studies provide insight into how workplace conditions for learning are shaped in this interaction and how perceptions of these conditions enable or constrain teachers' informal workplace learning.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 April 2022

Robert Holmgren and David Sjöberg

The purpose of this study is to explore Swedish police education teachers’ informal workplace learning and its perceived value for their professional development. Two categories…

1391

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore Swedish police education teachers’ informal workplace learning and its perceived value for their professional development. Two categories of teachers, police teachers and university teachers, with different professional knowledge and experience, work together at the police education unit.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used was in-depth interviews with teachers working at a Swedish police education unit.

Findings

Informal workplace learning was perceived by both teacher groups to be of great value for gaining knowledge about the local practice and for their professional development. Their learning emerged in discussions, observations and practically oriented activities in their daily work. Four conclusions: firstly, the teachers’ informal workplace learning was socially and practice-oriented and learning emerged in a collaborative, reciprocal and active process. Secondly, the embodied nature of the learning is evident in the teachers’ joint activities in the teaching practice. Thirdly, it takes time and active involvement in the local practice to become a professional teacher in this kind of education. Fourthly, an educational structure where academic knowledge and experience can be integrated with police knowledge and experience constitutes an important basis for teachers’ professional development in police education and training.

Originality/value

The study’s focus on police education and the professional development of teachers in this specific practice contributes to increased knowledge of the social, practice-oriented and embodied nature of informal workplace learning.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Monique Bernadette van Rijn, Huadong Yang and Karin Sanders

This paper aims to investigate the joint influence of employees' career motivation and their self-construal on their engagement in three informal workplace learning activities…

7971

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the joint influence of employees' career motivation and their self-construal on their engagement in three informal workplace learning activities: keeping up-to-date, asking for feedback from supervisors and knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 323 employees from four Dutch Vocational Education and Training (VET) schools. Regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis.

Findings

Career motivation is positively related to all three informal learning activities. Employees' individual self-construal strengthens the relationship between career motivation and engagement in the learning activity of keeping up-to-date, while employees' collective self-construal strengthens the relationship between career motivation and engagement in the learning activity of knowledge sharing. Contrary to expectations, employees' relational self-construal does not strengthen the relationship between career motivation and engagement in the learning activity of feedback asking from supervisors.

Research limitations/implications

The use of cross-sectional data collection made this study vulnerable to common method bias. Future studies should consider using a longitudinal research approach to overcome this limitation.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that both the motivational issue of “what do you want” and the self-identity issue of “who you are” are important for employee informal workplace learning. For human resource (HR) professionals this suggests that they should stimulate employees' career motivation, while for employees this suggests that they should engage in informal learning activities in keeping with their own style.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to provide empirical support for the joint influence of career motivation and self-construal on employees' informal workplace learning.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 18 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2004

Thomas J. Conlon

Informal learning's roots emerged from educational philosophers John Dewey, Kurt Lewin and Mary Parker Follett to theorists Malcolm Knowles and other successive researchers. This…

9646

Abstract

Informal learning's roots emerged from educational philosophers John Dewey, Kurt Lewin and Mary Parker Follett to theorists Malcolm Knowles and other successive researchers. This paper explores the background and definitions of informal learning and applications to the global workplace. Informal learning's challenges are applied to developing global professional competence, including theory, practice and policy implications. The paper argues that informal learning plays a considerable role in developing professional expertise in the workplace and private life, yet believes no current theoretical model exists to balance conflicts between the role of individual and organizational benefits in a global context.

Details

Journal of European Industrial Training, vol. 28 no. 2/3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0590

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 December 2021

Flávia Lucena Barbosa and Jairo Eduardo Borges-Andrade

This paper aims to find a measurement model with better evidence of validity, with data extracted from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to find a measurement model with better evidence of validity, with data extracted from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). To test a parsimonious model in which dispositional and workplace context characteristics are predictors of informal learning behaviors (ILBs).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to improve the fit of the PIAAC data measurement model. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the prediction of ILBs by one dispositional variable (Readiness to Learn) and two workplace context variables (Autonomy and Interaction in the Workplace).

Findings

A measurement model emerged with 18 items divided into four factors. The three antecedent variables predicted ILBs. Interaction in the workplace resulted in higher scores, and workplace autonomy resulted in lower scores.

Research limitations/implications

The small number of items for ILBs prevented a more detailed exploration of predictors of different types of these behaviors. ILBs can be stimulated by policies that promote readiness to learn and that encourage the design of environments that require worker interactions and autonomy.

Originality/value

Few studies on ILBs in the workplace have investigated the prediction of dispositional and contextual antecedents based on a theoretical model. The findings herein were obtained using a diverse sample of countries, occupations and generations, allowing better generalization. The importance of interpersonal relationships in the workplace for predicting ILBs was emphasized.

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