In this essay, I will be defining workplace learning and discussing what learning theories do to help us understand workplace learning and to guide labour education. Effective workplace learning occurs in a social context wherein workers come together and work cooperatively to find ways to improve their lives both within the workplace setting and beyond. In her book What did you Learn at Work Today? The Forbidden Lessons of Labour Education, USA labour educator Helena Worthen presents this view of learning, supporting her discussions with short scenarios of workplace problems, detailed descriptions of learning theories (that explain ways in which workers can work towards solutions) and in-depth case studies of real workers solving real problems.
Workplace learning is far more than a mastery of skills needed to carry out a specific set of tasks. Workers bring prior knowledge, attitudes and expectations to their workplace. The realities of the workplace may conflict with underlying values and beliefs. Understanding the dynamics of a workplace, interacting with coworkers, learning about the rights of workers and coping with employer/employee relations are all important aspects of workplace learning. To supplement on the job training, educational workshops, seminars, conferences and information sessions addressing current issues may be arranged by union leaders or employers.
A question often posed by workers experiencing conflict in dealings with their employers is “can they do that?” (Worthen, 2014, p. 4). Without union representation, or knowledge of labour education, workers are completely under their employer’s control. Worthen (2014) explains that “simply because something is “not fair” doesn’t mean it’s illegal” (p. 5). Even when discrimination takes place, it is more often than not very difficult for an employee to successfully hold their employer accountable due to an “extreme inequality of power” between employee and employer (Worthen, 2014, p. 6). When conflict arises and workplace problems need to be addressed, group action by workers knowledgeable about their rights can accomplish far more than an individual working alone. “Learning the forbidden lessons about rights”, whether as a unionized employee or not, can motivate individuals to learn their rights (Worthen, 2014, p. 36).
Worthen describes a story about one of her own labour education classes. The lesson topic concerned an unsafe workplace problem, and the many steps leading up to the final resolution. The teacher is interrupted by a student proclaiming that the scenario as described could not have happened, due to the employee alerting his superiors to the issue in its early stages. Through the resulting discussion amongst the learners, and divergence from the planned lecture, Worthen (2014) “show[s] how much students in labor education classes learn from each other, as compared to learning from the teacher” (p. 7).
Worthen sets the scene of a workplace accident, a potentially hazardous spill, and outlines the instructions on how to clean the spill as delivered to the employee by his superior. The employee has to consider not only the direct orders from his superior, but the consequences of not following those orders if he determines they are in contrast with his own wellbeing and safety. Workers often find themselves in this position, weighing the level of risk they are willing to take on in contrast with their job security. Worthen (2014) states what is needed to guide this way of thinking is: “a class in workers’ rights” (p. 16). She describes how this material is best learned in a casual environment “or informal gatherings where people meet and talk to each other” (Worthen, 2014, p. 16).
Worthen presents theories of learning from the fields of education and psychology as a basis of understanding learning in the workplace. She examines the following learning theories: Kolb’s Learning Cycle, Communities of Practice, Work Process Theory and Activity Theory. Kolb’s Learning Cycle views learning as a series of stages that an individual goes through when encountering something new. Worthen outlines these stages as “experience, reflecting, analysis and theorizing” (p. 48). One area Kolb’s Learning Cycle overlooks is the emotional aspect. This is no small oversight, as Worthen confirms: “some employment situations, even though they don’t involve physical risk, are so stressful that the crisis part of the learning cycle never shifts into the second step” and no learning occurs (p. 51).
The Communities of Practice theory investigates experiential learning rather than traditional, lecture-based pedagogies. Worthen describes “apprenticeships as a model for this teaching and learning” (p. 52). For Communities of Practice to be effective, the learner must feel a sense of belonging amongst superiors and peers. There must also be a clear educational plan in place, ensuring “transparency of the path from beginner to mature participant” (Worthen, 2014, p. 54). The initial tasks, no matter how seemingly small in nature, must still be important and purposeful. Drawing from the aforementioned apprenticeship architype, an example of this would be an apprentice tradesman becoming familiar with his materials and safe handling practices in the initial levels of his on-site training.
A move towards a more technically sophisticated era brought about the Work Process Theory. As in Communities of Practice, the Work Process Theory identifies that learners benefit “from actually doing the work” (Worthen, 2014, p. 56). The Work Process Theory learner also experiences “all the stages of Kolb’s Learning Cycle” (Worthen, 2014, p. 57). However, in Work Process Theory, “the process is shared” between the learner, his peers and superiors as well as “shared throughout the organization itself” (Worthen, 2014, p. 57). Instead of a hierarchical system where leadership does all thinking and employees are only doing as instructed, the Work Process Theory “not only has workers reporting problems, it has them solving them” (Worthen, 2014, p. 59). This has been relevant in my own experience working with Faculty Performance Reviews. I would meet regularly with leadership to discuss what was working with the review process from an administrative standpoint, as well as offering solutions for what was not. Leadership welcomed my perspective, and by working collaboratively, we were able to implement an automated workflow system that eliminated manual tasks, freeing up administrative time to be of more assistance to faculty and ultimately making the entire process streamlined and efficient.
In Activity Theory, “the whole activity is bounded by its purpose” (Worthen, 2014, p. 64). The concept of Activity Theory is demonstrated in an example of housekeeping staff working in a hotel system. The staff are working through their break times in an attempt to keep up with the demands of their workload. Not surprisingly, injuries take place as a result of the staff being overworked. The consequences of the staff not taking their breaks illustrates the importance of union representation to achieve overall success for both employee and employer. Where the staff places their livelihood above the needs of the hotel, the hotel places its profits above the wellbeing of their staff. However, it is in their combined efforts and cooperation that overall success is achieved. Ultimately, the union ensuring staff are taking their mandated breaks ensures continued work efficiency over the longer term, and both the employer and employee benefit. “Activity Theory proposes that learning – or, more broadly speaking, social change, which depends on learning – takes place not in the individual mind or even in the transmission of information from one mind to another, but in a social interaction among people” (Worthen, 2014, p. 69). Activity Theory considers the regulations of the times and adapts as these elements change. For example, as safety protocols change, so will equipment. The physical demands on the housekeeping staff will change, and the union will need to ensure the demands on their workload is regulated. It is clear that through these four modes of learning, each concept can “provide different ways of looking at the same thing” (Worthen, 2014, p. 57).
The case studies Worthen presents in the final chapters of her book show examples of learning occurring in real workplaces and how learning theories are applicable to the process. “In these chapters people deal with problems collaboratively, take their time, strategize and learn from what they’ve done” (Worthen, 2014, p. 84). Some members may have learned about these theories formally in labour studies classrooms, other may seek answers by reaching out to colleagues and friends knowledgeable about workplace conflict resolution and many will learn about them informally as they experience them in action and not necessarily identity them by name.
Worthen tells of the formation of a union by the employees of an Illinois based private sector non-profit health provider, Heartland Human Services. This case study illustrates the employees working through the stages of Kolb’s Learning Cycle. The employees listened as their director announced a new budgeting plan eroding working conditions that had long been in place to the final success in gaining a union contract. The workers felt angry but helpless, wondering what to do and fearing dire consequences if they dared to complain. Workers talked to friends and family and to peers at work searching for information of what they might do. Conversations with fellow workers expanded to include other departments, and possible subsequent action plans began to form. Such social interactions were formerly unheard of between the “residential and outpatient” programs (Worthen, 2014, p. 96). These cooperative interactions worked to strengthen the employee resolve and unify them as a team. Instead of individuals trying to make sense of a bad situation, the workers learned to present an organized front and began the process of forming a union. A comradery formed between the two groups of Heartland employees, as they worked towards a common cause. Time for reflecting was over, they had a long rocky road ahead and a lot to learn. With the help of a national union, the Heartland workers followed the steps of establishing a union, negotiating a contract, facing rejection, surviving a long period of strike, lockout, court action, arbitration and finally reaching contract agreement. Although in the end the common goal was reached, a lot of damage had been done along the way (stress, financial problems, participants having to leave the fight and get work elsewhere). A lot of the individuals took on considerable risk in order to continue to fight for their rights. Although the consensus seemed to be that the experience was valuable in terms of learning, that didn’t mean it was a completely positive one for everyone. Worthen (2014) reports one active participant describing how she felt: “It was sure a learning period in my life…I just wanted to give you a better sense of how difficult it was” (p. 110).
Workers are not the only learners in experiences such as the Heartland situation. In chapter 7 Worthen investigates the impact the work environment has on families, viewing the family as an extension of the union Community of Practice. Her insights are based on applications for scholarships open to children of union members where she describes cases involving parenting issues and reports the impressions made upon the children expressed in their own words. The ripple effect is significant in both positive and negative ways. The parents, in an attempt to avoid causing any undue stress upon their children, tend to hide any sign of work problems both when facing difficult times, taking action to improve workplace conditions and even after the job action is resolved. While not a direct part of the workplace, children watch and learn. They feel the stress work issues cause indirectly even though their parents may be trying to be protective. However, the overall consensus as per the information in the scholarship papers, is that children feel a sense of pride and respect when they see their parents stand up for themselves and fellow workers. “These young people are learning about work, but not learning the traditional job skills which is the content of most job training programs” (Worthen, 2014, p. 126). They are in fact learning as part of a Community of Practice and are in to a position to become adults with an informed perspective when they themselves join the workforce.
Worthen (2014) uses an example of a construction union apprenticeship agreement to highlight the value of a Community of Practice model that benefits both the union and the employer: “From the employer’s point of view, the training of apprentices, and their development into skilled journeymen, makes possible the perpetuation of a skilled workforce they can count on. From the union’s point of view, the upcoming generation of new tradesmen needs to be well-trained in order to get hired and to pay into the retirement funds of older, retiring journeymen. The common interest in this community of practice is money” (p. 133). Apprentices learn in a combination of classroom modules supplemented by less-predictable but more realistic on-the-job training. As in most Communities of Practice approaches to gaining knowledge, a clear plan is in place with structure and guidelines, the required work is real work, expertise is shared and longevity is ensured for the benefit of all participants. The social context of effective workplace learning is evident in the variety of social interactions involved in the various phases of an apprenticeship learning program.
As a real-world application of the Work Process Knowledge theory, Worthen describes workers solving problems together in a garment shop environment. Workers shared information to resolve issues such as fairness in work assignments, piece work as opposed to hourly rate to address pay inequities, improving work-flow efficiency to keep the business viable. “Work Process Knowledge theory makes us look at problems as opportunities, and guides us to pull people together to solve them and communicate [what] they learn to others” (Worthen, 2014, p. 238-239).
The story told of worker safety at an old coal-burning plant illustrates Activity Theory learning in a similar way as the hotel housekeeping staff scenario presented earlier. Worthen (2014) talks about “old knowledge” as veteran workers pass on the methods of former times so that newer workers can learn what to do to keep out of date equipment working while assessing what safety risks they are willing to take (p. 179).
Many other stories applying learning theories to workplace actions are told in Worthen’s book. When describing job action by teachers in Chicago and in San Francisco, she comments: “All of these theories of learning (with the exception of Kolb) assume that learning is social and collective” (Worthen, 2014, p. 233). However, the step-by-step framework of the Kolb’s Learning Cycle can involve groups learning together (social context) as in the Heartland story discussed earlier.
Well-organized and successful workplace learning takes place when workers are informed about their rights, ready to take collective action and are guided in their responses by the use of such frameworks as the theories of learning described. Workers and union or workplace leaders can then draw upon components from all of the theories to guide their thinking and strategizing. When this happens in a social context, positive solutions can often be achieved.
Works Cited:
Worthen, H. (2014). What Did You Learn at Work Today? The forbidden lessons of labor education. Hard Ball Press.
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