Organisation of work: Reflections on an often forgotten workplace

learning dimension

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01/08/2017
by Simon BROEK
Language:  EN
Document available also in: PL HU HR
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of work

What is organisation of work and how can it help the process of workplace
learning? Ulrik Brandi from the Danish School of Education at Aarhus
University and Rosa Lisa Iannone from the Faculty of Law, Economics and
Finance at the University of Luxembourg shared their thoughts.
 
 

Workplace learning through the organisation of work

Researchers and practitioners in workplace learning and training have long argued
about the significance of learning in developing enterprises. Unstable environments
make learning the business imperative, leading us to take note of the strategies
adopted by enterprises to support workplace learning. In this blog post our focus is
on workplace learning strategies for competence development and how these can be
realised in practice through the organisation of work.
The organisation of work (or work design) is an often omitted – but still highly
important – aspect of learning in the workplace. It encompasses the setups,
channels and strategies adopted to internally support production, communication,
and general performance of the enterprise. When analysing these features, we can
identify the coordinated efforts of work that lay the foundation of providing
employees with opportunities to develop coherent and informal competences.
 

The constitution of a productive workplace learning environment

Our message is that lifelong learning environments and work organisation bolster
rich and complex work as well as employee-driven and team-driven learning
initiatives. The organisation of work directly contributes to employee wellbeing and
overall workplace learning performance in the following ways:

 The systematisation of certain aspects of human resources (HR) through HR

leadership helps strengthen learning in the workplace. This is especially
effective if the systematisation is simple and straightforward, and it
emphasises action learning and reflective learning processes, such as
performance appraisals and goal-setting.
 Hierarchy and deep distinctions in employee status prevent employees from
taking full advantage of the opportunities to develop competences; so too
much systematisation may not be ideal.
 Ad-hoc arrangements allow for a greater sense of ownership and belonging,
and an easier match between (individual/project/organisational) learning
needs and on-demand learning solutions.
 How challenging one’s work is – routine vs. non-routine – plays an important
role in the provision and taking of learning opportunities.
 Granting employees decision-making power over their work design, supported
by leaderships, positively influences learning in the workplace.

Thus, workplace learning through the organisation of work means striking a balance
between top-down and bottom-up approaches to communication, participation and
innovation. High-performing workplace learning systems are characterised by
teamwork, employee agency and autonomy over one’s own work, coupled with the
promotion of non-routine work wherever possible. It increases enterprise flexibility
and adaptability, and improves responsiveness to change.
 
What can be done?
So, what can be done to bolster our knowledge and practice when it comes to
workplace learning through the organisation of work? We suggest the following:

 Disseminate relevant best practices, for instance through public-private

platforms, such as communities of practice, networks and knowledge hubs
(EPALE is a good example).
 Promote policies that strengthen HR leadership, particularly for
traditional (e.g. benefits and services) and transformational (e.g. strategic
planning and knowledge management) HR practices. This will translate into
streamlining administrative HR-related activities, boosting efficiency and
giving more room to HR practices that promote creativity, new business
partnerships, learning across teams, project work and employee-driven
initiatives.
 Diminish bureaucracy. Policymakers have an especially crucial role to play
in diminishing bureaucracy by, for example, using online systems for
knowledge-sharing that can also lead to cross-analyses internationally and
within industries.
 Conduct more research on and dissemination of learning
strategies that overcome hierarchy, bureaucracy and status distinction at
work. Although these features are very much rooted in culture and industry
tradition, empirical studies highlight these as overall negative motivators.

Initiate empirical studies that trace the lineage of work organisation so that

historical, socio-cultural and other learning conditions can be taken into account
towards the optimisation of today’s workplace learning arrangements.