Linda Jingfang Cai* shares four ideas to add more joy to your work week.
Children sometimes remind us of the simplest yet most profound truths. I recently asked my daughter to do 100 speed math questions.
I’m an Asian mom and that was how I learned while growing up — repetition, volume, and sheer determination.
When she refused, we clashed, and she obeyed with tears in her eyes and didn’t get many correct.
Later, a friend came to play.
The two started a pretend “pizza shop.” My daughter was the cashier, delighting in handling the bills and change.
As I watched her from the side, she was doing a great job with calculating quite complex math.
But more important — she was beaming.
The smile on her face made me feel guilty for not trusting her to build math skills on her own and actually have fun!
Joyful learning is a powerful tool.
It taps into what’s important to you — helping you connect with others, feel a sense of accomplishment, or both.
A Harvard study found happy students achieved higher grades, and positive emotions accelerate knowledge acquisition, encourage curiosity, and spark innovation.
When was the last time you loved learning something at work?
The case for joyful learning in the flow of work
There is a powerful argument for reframing how we think about workplace learning.
Rather than a narrow focus on building skills to take the next step, businesses that develop cultures of joyful learning reap greater longer-term benefits such as higher employee engagement and increased team productivity.
Gen Z, in particular, has grown up with entertaining content on mobile devices.
Younger workers are embracing learning, and they expect it to be fun.
Any shift in mindset from process-focused to growth-oriented takes time.
While the argument for change is compelling, some leaders are hesitant to sign onto new ways of operating when the returns aren’t immediately apparent.
However, there is already compelling data that supports the long-term benefits of developing a workforce that is encouraged to joyfully embrace the challenges of learning new skills and applying these skills with greater creativity.
Four ideas to anchor joyful learning and development
Here are four ideas that can help you add joyful learning to your L&D programs.
- Life-long learning is now part of everyday work
Making joyful learning part of the work culture means you have a workforce that is enthusiastic about learning.
When the next work-related learning opportunity arises, they’ll be excited to jump on board.
Having lifelong learners in your organization leads to a team of people who are more likely to stay on top of trends, technologies, and opportunities to pivot when the need arises.
Spotlight those authentic stories of lifelong learning to keep inspiring and motivating others in the organization to do the same.
At one company where I led L&D, we used to run an annual learning campaign.
One year I asked people to send photos of themselves learning at “most unusual places.” The results were amazing.
There were people learning on a hot-air balloon; learning while doing yoga; and learning while walking the dog.
The winner was a father learning with his son.
Many said in feedback that they were inspired by one another’s enthusiasm for learning and now wanted to do more of that themselves.
- Employees are hungry to learn in their own ways
The numbers are clear – today’s workforce is interested in learning like never before.
And they are going to seek out career opportunities that support their continued learning, in their own ways.
As a society, we are so accustomed to personalized content that adapts to our interest and is consumed when and how we want.
It is hard to think workplace learning is much different from that.
Organizations need to acknowledge the increased desire for personalized learning tracks and consider how to best implement additional learning opportunities to meet employees where they are.
In order to attract, engage, and retain employees — and foster your future leadership — organizations need to be innovative and flexible with their approach to L&D.
This includes offering more personalized learning tracks and self-directed learning.
This is especially important for people and teams when they are stressed for time and coping with the new challenges of hybrid work.
Self-directed and personalized learning offers flexibility to provide individuals with the learning they want at a time that works for them.
- Change starts with positive leadership
Workplace culture is currently experiencing one of its greatest upheavals ever.
There is no turning back on many of these changes, and wise leaders will see the benefits of embracing change.
Learning champions are the cornerstone of positive change.
In order to gain buy-in and spark interest in a new workplace learning model, organizations need leaders who are willing to step up and share their authentic enthusiasm for learning.
Here are tips for leaders who want to demonstrate this enthusiasm:
- Create a place to share what everyone is currently learning (for work and personal life) and why it excites them.
- Find out how team members learn and make sure your conversations around learning remain inclusive. (For example, not all learners are readers, so don’t strictly focus on “what are you reading?”)
- Encourage team members to create learning communities within the organization — even if it’s for an outside interest.
It’s important for L&D teams to support leaders in this change as well, and offer them the opportunity to develop their own joyful leadership style.
- Build relationships around learning
Especially in a time when a lot of work is conducted remotely, having tools that enable collaboration around learning will help your teams stay in sync as they develop skills together.
Many L&D organizations understand the importance of soft skill sets in this new work environment.
What is sometimes a missed opportunity is actually enhancing collaboration and developing soft skills while learning.
At Linkedin, we emphasize the need to learn together with others.
There are always personal development and team development sessions at every offsite, sales kickoff, or functional / leadership symposium.
These are typically well programmed and facilitated, but we also ask leaders to connect to their team’s specific context and encourage sharing personal experience and stories to make the learning real.
We celebrate when others show vulnerability and commit to building a psychologically safe environment for everyone.
In today’s changing world, having a workforce that understands how to communicate, how to operate with empathy, and how to effectively navigate difficult conversations will naturally foster a much more joyful workplace.
Final thought: Joyful learning is human-centered
There’s something electric about connecting with someone over a subject you are both passionate about.
This joyful exchange of ideas fosters curiosity and propels us into even greater depths of discovery.
Here’s another story about my daughter to end this article.
I recently watched her share a gift of joyful learning with others.
Inspired by the “How to Train your Dragons” series, she took the initiative to research Viking history and medieval myths about dragons, then did a presentation to teach her pals.
In L&D, we talk about the importance of personalized growth tracks, self-directed learning, and collaboration.
But adding joy is often as simple as remembering our humanity — our individual passions, our interpersonal powers, and our desire to share with one another.
*Linda Jingfang Cai, VP, Talent Development, Linkedin.
This article first appeared at linkedin.com
