Guest editorial: Learning capabilities for future work practices: part two

Citation

Svensson, A., Lundh Snis, U. and Bernhard, I.C. (2023), "Guest editorial: Learning capabilities for future work practices: part two", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 35 No. 8, pp. 665-669. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-10-2023-199

1. Learning capabilities for future work practices

Learning, knowledge and continuous development of workforce competencies are of vibrant importance for a sustainable society. Work patterns and jobs will become more digital with a focus on sustainability, where issues of responsibility and empowerment are fundamental (e.g. Battistella et al., 2021). Digital technology essentially changes the way organizations operate and is often seen as a disruptive driver of change (Drechsler et al., 2020; Kallinikos et al., 2013; Lyytinen et al., 2016). This digital transformation is a challenge and calls for new logics of organizing and learning and involve the understanding of revolutionary and continuous changes in operations that affect both managers and staff (Svensson, et al., 2021; Vallo Hult and Byström, 2022). This implies not only managing knowledge together with a critical reflection in action but also commitment and participation in interprofessional, cross-sector and interorganizational actions. The significance of creating prerequisites for learning in organizations is related to several factors, e.g. demographic development is a major challenge for the health-care sector. Artificial technologies are posing challenges for human empowerment and judgment in the industrial sector and in the society as a whole (Shahlaei and Lundh Snis, 2022). This indicates that certain groups may be affected more than others, calling for inclusive, interprofessional and multidisciplinary approaches.

Likewise of the digital transformation, organizations in all sectors of society face complex problems that require new knowledge and competences. When dealing with these complex issues, learning capabilities and collaboration are fundamental to include various perspectives and competences across organizational borders based on inclusion of employees, trust, transparency, systematic employee development and encouragement for constant experimentation and learning (Battistella et al., 2021; Bernhard and Olsson, 2020; Bernhard and Wihlborg, 2021). Inclusion for organizational learning is here argued to be in line with the intentions for social sustainability (United Nations, 2021). Billett (2014a) discusses specifically about workers who consistently report learning occupational skills in workplaces and/or through the circumstances of work. In particular, the digital transformation presupposes an increased space for different types of learning that are in line with the strategic work of organizing and managing for learning (Shahlaei and Lundh Snis, 2022). One transdisciplinary approach to learn is work-integrated learning (WIL) that may be seen as a collective transdisciplinary approach and concept encapsulating a variety of different approaches in understanding learning. Within WIL, the coproduction of knowledge interprofessionally means that new learning is achieved through collaboration. This development is reflected in a renewed academic interest and learning at work, where theoretical and practical knowledge as well as experiences are integrated and linked in workplaces (Billett, 2004; 2014a, 2014b). Mobilizing and coordinating knowledge are a major challenge for innovations as well as to learn in a changing working life (Nicolini et al., 2016).

In this new landscape of work and professional contexts, where digitalization and sustainability are two main driving challenges for contemporary organizations, it becomes vital to learn how to navigate. Creating conditions and opportunities for innovative approaches of integrating learning aspects in work contexts also needs to be set in the perspective of sustainability from ecologic, economic and social sustainability dimensions. Organizations’ ability to support a sustainable development of both human and technical capabilities will be the outstanding success. Furthermore, how values and efforts regarding employees’ learning capabilities are considered when designing and managing the organization’s financial and technical resources will be of special interest. People in organizations are constantly confronted with new and different challenges, requiring experimenting with and developing new practices, adapting new strategies and technologies, and also a readiness to leave behind old ways of organizing and working. Therefore, studies on methods and approaches to requiring learning capabilities about future work practices and how this could be developed and managed need further interest in research.

2. Articles in this special issue

Like in Part one, previous versions of the articles in this Part two of the special issue were all presented at the OLKC 2022 Conference of Organisational Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities, September 7–9, 2022, at School of Business, Economics and IT, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden. The overall theme was “Learning future workforce capabilities for global sustainability.”

The six articles collected in this special issue on “Learning Capabilities for Future Work Practices” suggest many important aspects regarding the role of learning capabilities for future work practices. The first two articles are based on empirical cases from the industry sector contexts from the perspectives of the adoption of advanced technology. Next article is from public context and offers novel insights on a reflexive method for workplace learning focusing on enhancing care workers’ awareness of empathic care. The next two articles both contribute to advanced knowledge and understanding of workplace learning. One focusing on mentoring and workplace learning and the other directing on the relationship between technological innovations, changes in frontline service work and workplace learning. The last article takes the point of departure from tripartite collaboration between apprentices, employers and universities, where learning, knowledge and skills are analyzed to derive implications for future work practices.

Leading off, the contribution by Fernando Martins, Jorge Muniz Jr, Daniel Wintersberger and João Paulo Oliveira Santos provides insights from the industry sector where digitalization and Industry 4.0 currently influence the economic situation and the social system of workers and their knowledge and competence in the actual work situation. The study takes point of departure from the trade unions and their role during implementation of Industry 4.0 and its advanced technology adoption. The workers’ perspective and knowledge about technology use is central in this study and the authors argue that there is a need to seriously consider the knowledgeable and skilled workers as vital participants to succeed in having a digitalized and effective workplace with continuous learning and knowledge processes flowing. Through a case study with qualitative semistructured interviews, the authors shed light on how human resources and workplace learning must be reviewed to prepare workers to face Industry 4.0 This case demonstrates the general contribution of how local participatory trade unionism can contribute to the implementation of Industry 4.0, including the organization, the workplace, local union and its workers in a common deliberate effort.

The second contribution, written by Annika Wiklund-Engblom, Annika Arman, Federica Polo, Caroline Kullbäck and Stefan Asplund, presents a formative intervention in a growing small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) company where the top management aimed to become an attractive workplace for the next-generation workers. The central part was to develop a smart working environment (SWE) based on the needs of the target group. The participative approach is based on the expansive learning cycles where organizational learning is identified and improved collaboratively by the research group and the SME organization. The importance of engaging the young generation as the coming workforce is of particular interest in this study. The authors conclude that an SWE should be seen as a time stamp in the evolution of a dynamic work environment, rather than a definition of something static. The continued participation in this evolution gives empowerment and thus, is an effective tool for creating an SWE.

The third article, written by Vilja Rydman and Evelina Saari, introduces the Empatia video reflection method designed to enhance care workers’ awareness of empathic care. The authors argue that the method makes the quality of care visible, which is needed when digitalization efforts in elder care focus on the efficiency and adequacy of care work. In empathic care work, the care worker sees the client on their life continuum, rather than focusing on only medical treatments. Findings demonstrates how a care worker gained awareness of their empathic interaction habits. Compared with other video-stimulated recall methods, the Empatia method involves contextual understanding of care work. Empowering positive interactions instead of detecting errors and solving problems is a novel concept and is scantily used in studies of organizational learning. In today’s aging societies and health care that is becoming increasingly technology based, it is crucial to shift the discussion beyond resource management and delve into the content and relations of care. Care workers themselves may not be fully aware of the most valuable part of care, and how in everyday care they can create conditions for good life for the elderly clients.

The fourth article is written by Rebecka Arman, Lotta Dellve, Nanna Gillberg and Ewa Wikström and contributes to an advanced understanding of the relational work carried out in mentoring programs and the implications for learning capabilities for future practices. With a theoretical focus on social capital, based on 54 qualitative interviews, the authors highlight the importance of workplace conditions, which are central in organizing mentoring programs with implications for learning capabilities for future practices. The authors state that it is central to achieve strong and mutually beneficial relationships, continual and trustful interaction between actors. Using the concepts of social capital, socialization agents and psychological sense of community, this study contributes to an understanding of mentoring and workplace learning.

The fifth contribution, written by Charlotte Arkenback and Mona Lundin, examines how instructional videos produced by retail employers and tech companies have modeled cashier roles and skills in the service encounter over time. In the study, the author has examined 50 instructional video narratives produced between 1917 and 2021, with the theory of practice architectures as the analytical framework. The paper found that a cashier’s selling practice is composed of two intertwined parts: transactions and customer service, but they are often taught separately. Despite technological advancements, employers’ cashier training videos have not evolved significantly since the 1990s and still focus on emotional labor skills. This article provides insights into the relationship between technological innovations, changes in frontline service work and workplace learning.

The final contribution in Part two of this special issue, written by Ella Taylor-Smith, Sally Smith, Khristin Fabian and Andrew Bratton, investigates the lived experiences and reflections of the apprentices at a center to inform effective collaboration in a tripartite collaboration between apprentices, employers and universities. A four-year qualitative longitudinal study was conducted, with interviews of apprentices, based on their lived experiences. The results of the study indicate that apprentices require interest and support from their employers and colleagues to promote meaningful integration between their work and studies. The authors conclude that apprenticeships can be highly effective in upskilling the workforce and sharing knowledge and skills between academia and the workplace in both directions, while specifically enabling workers to gain degree qualifications relevant to their roles.

With this special issue we thank all authors, reviewers and other contributors and hope that the issue will inspire both researchers as well as practitioners to develop the field of Learning Capabilities for Future Work Practices.