Enabling better learning at work

28.8.2017

When everyone in a workplace values learning and builds on their experiences to achieve better success, organisations and individuals flourish. But we all tackle learning very differently and the professional development of a whole staff body can be problematic.

Each person has their own internal landscape, each has their own strengths and weaknesses, different learning styles, and all experience different stressors that can, in different ways, inhibit learning. What is more, studies tell us that when there is a sense of psychological safety at work, where people perceive career and interpersonal threat as sufficiently low – they more readily ask for help, admit errors, and discuss problems. That allows for much more effective learning.

Learning and personal barriers

When we learn, we gain knowledge or skills through study, experience or being taught by others. In the workplace, all three come into play, but some people find learning easier than others. There are various personal barriers to learning: concentration span issues, fear of failure, adjusting to a new role, emotional sensitivities, lack of motivation and many more. As learning is such an individual experience, it can be challenging to train a whole body of staff consistently and create a culture of learning where everyone has the same approach.

How mindfulness in the workplace works

The workplace can be hectic and overwhelming at times, and when there are new skills to learn, that can increase the feeling of being hard-pressed. One of the ways people try to avoid stress is by seeking to avoid their own present-moment experience. That can lead to a tendency to dwell on personal circumstances - worrying about the past or becoming anxious about the future. Or it can lead to a tendency to zone-out and go onto autopilot. It is possible to learn in such states of mind, at least to some extent, but active learning is always more effective than passive learning. The more engaging the learning process, the more effective it will be.

A more mindful staff learns better

Research conducted Dr Sara Lazar and others at Harvard tells us that when people are more mindful, they learn better. In her research, Lazar found that just two months’ mindfulness training their capacity for learning. By gaining more control over concentration, employees experienced less mind wandering and were more efficient. They had better sensory performance and regulation of emotions and the area of the brain responsible for the fight or flight response shrunk. This has the potential to allow staff to tackle tasks and situations without as much procrastination or anxiety about failure – and it helps them to learn.

Not only that but mindfulness training seems to level the playing field. It has similar effects on 25-year-olds compared with 50-year-olds. Unusually, then, it has the potential for unifying staff in their approach to learning.

To discover more about how mindfulness can be used to help with professional development in the workplace, contact rachel@mindfulnessworks.com, or call (+44) 01223 750660.