Research shows that continuous learning supports mental wellbeing and even helps prevent cognitive decline.
Learning brings joy, keeps the mind active and strengthens psychological capital.
However, changes in work and the pace of change are reflected in growing demands and expectations, both in the content of our working days and in the pace of work. Our hard drives are full, we forget things, and the thought of introducing yet another new system on top of everything else can feel overwhelming.
Concrete action is needed to clear the space and breathing room that creativity, thinking and learning require.
“In the past, it was enough to carry out your tasks as instructed, but today’s working life increasingly calls for thinking, creativity and learning. Activities that require this kind of cognitive capacity need to be nourished by intrinsic motivation, enthusiasm and engagement in work.”
Liisa Arponen
Organisational development expert
Investing in skills development in ways that motivate employees, without forgetting the learner, is an excellent way not only to humanise strategy but also to create the breathing room we need and an inclusive organisational culture where employees feel well and enjoy their work.
This blog invites you to look at learning as more than a means of achieving strategic goals. Learning is something that has value in itself, with far-reaching effects on overall wellbeing and commitment to work.
The learner comes first
Talking only about strategy and impact is no longer enough. In recent years, our discussions about learning have focused increasingly on the strategic management and impact of learning in organisations, and for good reason. Measuring impact is the key to understanding how investments in training and development translate into tangible results.
Strategic learning means directing investments in learning so that they directly support the organisation’s goals and strategy. This requires a clear vision of the skills the organisation needs both now and in the future. Managing strategic learning, in turn, means systematically developing those skills throughout the organisation, with learning woven into everyday work and organisational culture.
Yet, although the impact of learning is an important measure, neither it nor learning aligned with organisational goals is enough on its own to guarantee a learning organisation’s success in a changing world.
According to the humanistic view of human nature, people are motivated to learn when their environment supports their autonomy and sense of meaning. These ideas are based on self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan), which concerns people’s basic motivational needs.
In the words of my friend, learning expert Susanna Valkeus:
“If we want learning to be goal-oriented and to measure its impact, it must strengthen people’s sense of autonomy and meaning, not undermine it.”
Goal-oriented learning requires an organisation to have the ability and means to reconcile strategic skills needs with employees’ career and learning aspirations.
When we design learning and learning processes, and steer people in a shared direction in line with the organisation’s strategic goals, we must keep the learner clearly in mind: how they see and experience things, what motivates them, why and how.
This can often mean taking very conflicting interests into account and managing expectations, for example around personal career development and business priorities.
Dialogue is needed. An organisation’s learning culture and skills management should enable structures for skills development that support strategic priorities while still leaving employees the breathing room they need in terms of autonomy and intrinsic motivation.
Investing in learning is always worthwhile
“Working life needs more humanity, empathy and appreciation,” says company culture expert Katriina Grönqvist in Helsingin Sanomat.
Investing in employee skills development has always been a significant way to strengthen the employee experience and commitment to developing oneself, one’s work and one’s organisation. When people feel they are learning and developing, their motivation, commitment and wellbeing at work increase. But it does not stop there: self-development and the ability to influence one’s work, including through one’s skills, also have countless other direct and indirect effects.
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Learning new things meets our intrinsic desire to grow and develop
Learning means more to people than accumulating skills. It is not merely a means to achieve another goal—such as career advancement or organisational results—but is meaningful and valuable in itself.
Learning brings substance, energy and purpose to life. It meets our intrinsic desire to grow and develop. When we learn something new, we often feel enthusiasm and the joy of achievement.
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Feeling in command of your work tasks creates wellbeing
Good conditions for learning and renewal strengthen people’s sense that they can influence their own lives and careers. Developing your skills, feeling in command of your current tasks and being prepared for changes to them create a sense of wellbeing.
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Skills strengthen commitment to your work
A sense of mastery over our skills is also closely linked to how committed we are to our work and how meaningful we find it. According to the State of the global workplace report, only 15 per cent of Finnish employees are engaged in their work. In other words, only about one in six Finns feels that it is worth giving their best at work, as company culture expert Katriina Grönqvist describes in Helsingin Sanomat.
Investing in employee skills development has always been a key way to strengthen commitment to developing one’s work and organisation.
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People with good learning skills view change optimistically and dare to move towards it
Employees’ learning skills play a critical role in today’s working life, including from the perspective of organisational renewal. The ability to learn brings confidence and flexibility in a changing world, increasing resilience and reducing stress.
By investing in employees in ways that strengthen their personal sense of meaning in their work and bring a sense of control, we strengthen commitment. This means listening to employees and providing time and space to think, experience and explore. In general, it means things that increase our sense that we can influence our work.
Welcome to the age of thinking work
Thinking work is much more than completing tasks. It requires space, breathing room and intrinsic motivation. It grows out of joy in work, trust and the feeling that learning is worthwhile—and possible.
At this point, skills development is no longer merely a strategic tool, but a way of designing working life to be more sustainable and humane. When people feel they are learning, they feel better. When they feel better, they become more committed. And when they are committed, they bring more value to their employer.
Learning and the opportunity for self-development have significant value for people’s capacity to cope and feel well at work. Learning is not just a means of achieving business objectives: through learning, we strengthen people’s wellbeing, sense of meaning and long-term ability to face future changes.
It is also important for employees themselves to understand the significance of their own learning—not only for the organisation’s success, but also for their own job satisfaction and career development.
Renew yourself through learning, without forgetting the learner
The year 2025 has invited us to think about working life in a new way. Learning is not just a tool for improving competitiveness—it is a path towards a more humane, meaningful and sustainably built working life.
At Kuulas & Co, we believe that a better working life is built one thought, one insight and one learning experience at a time.
And that the best expertise does not live in management team memos, but in how it is brought to life through people.
P.S. If you would like to read more about how learning builds a better working life, take a look at the researchers’ Working Life Manifesto. It serves as a useful checklist for all of us who want to change working life with thought and heart.
Championing the learner
Elina Pihlantie
Organisational developer
Learning organisations
Employees’ career and learning aspirations
CEO of Kuulas & Co Oy and
Founder of the SKILLE network