Competence requirements in the workplace are growing at a tremendous pace as technology advances and remote work is becoming increasingly normalised. Work-related formal training, too, increasingly takes place on online platforms. However, online courses completed alongside other work tasks are by no means unproblematic, nor is informal learning online.

Inadequate pedagogical implementation of online training, combined with unrealistic expectations of participation and efficiency, can lead to certificates of completion rather than professional development, while other informal learning online tends to be overshadowed by content-heavy meetings and faceless encounters.

These are findings from a recent study by Postdoctoral Researcher Soila Lemmetty at the University of Eastern Finland, examining challenges related to remote learning and innovation in police and technology sector organisations.

Lemmetty notes that in police organisations, online learning alongside work is often manifested as juggling of multiple tasks all at once, and as something employees have to independently fit into their busy schedules.

“Inadequate pedagogical support from the organisation could lead to situations where online lectures were listened to amidst other tasks, or training was completed during the quieter hours of the night, at the end of a long shift. Learning was often described as transfer of information in a lecture-heavy format, with the content not necessarily being fully relevant to employees’ own work. Sometimes, they also struggled to understand how to put the things learnt to practice.”

Lemmetty points out that mere participation in training does not necessarily guarantee a profound learning experience. In a worst-case scenario, it can lead to a performance-oriented perspective where “competence development” left to be taken care of by courses gets measured, and learning is “verified” by certificates of participation. Ultimately, this can start to push individuals towards performance orientation, which overshadows the actual learning process.

Remote work weakens social bonds and trust within the community

In the technology sector, learning at work is seen as taking place in everyday innovation processes. However, remote work, which is nowadays increasingly common, was seen as a particular challenge to innovative and communal learning, as online interaction increases ambiguity, reduces opportunities for making observations and using all of one’s senses. Long term, this weakens social bonds and trust within the community.

“With remote work, spontaneous and informal encounters tend to get overshadowed by structured and content-heavy meetings. It’s a shame because, according to the study participants, the best new ideas often emerge in such informal encounters,” Lemmetty says.

According to the study, erosion of trust and declining social bonds due to remote work were the greatest concern.

“A sense of community and trust are regarded as the foundation for experts to engage in critical discussions, make mistakes and learn from them. Such discussions are crucial for innovation.”

Better targeted training and informal encounters

To better support learning, Lemmetty notes that organisations should better target training to the actual competence needs of their personnel, and that time be allocated to reflection, experimentation and discussion both during training and in the course of everyday work.

“Enabling diverse, multi-channel interaction and informal encounters, together with engaging learning methods and sufficient time allocation, help to maintain innovation and competence development even in remote work.”

Lemmetty notes that the findings have led her to contemplate whether the increase in online learning is taking us back to a behaviourist understanding of learning, where one-way transfer of information is seen as a guarantee of learning.

“That should absolutely not happen, as research shows that adult learning is best described by a constructivist understanding of learning, which emphasises active engagement, reflection and social interaction.”

Lemmetty points out that the present study specifically set out to find challenges, although there is much that is positive in online learning as well.

“In other words, I wouldn’t abandon all online training or remote work, but I do recommend paying special attention to their pedagogical implementation.”

The study was conducted as part of the Employee-Driven Learning and Innovation project, EDLI, funded by the Research Council of Finland.