The ideal learning environment

Learning new skills is fundamental to a successful career. Learning effectively, however, is a skill in itself, and our working environment is one of the key determinants in the success of our learning.

Here, guests from the Best Work podcast share their views on how to find environments that will maximise their learning. While everyone is different, and each of us has their own way of learning best, it is hoped this will act as inspiration for anyone on the journey to discovering their own optimal approach to learning.

What makes a good learning environment?

There are various factors at play in a working environment that determine how much individuals in those environments will learn.

Chief among these are organisational inputs. How much time and money does the company invest in the development of its workers? This can manifest in different forms: for example, by giving engineers dedicated learning time, by providing in-house training programs, or by covering the costs of external accreditations and courses.

However, the culture of the organisation plays a major part. This is often driven by senior management, who signpost their commitment to such a culture through quantifiable inputs such as those mentioned above. But a truly engaging learning environment requires everyone to be on the same wavelength, buying into a culture of learning and experimentation. Software Engineers Andrew describes the kind of environment he would learn best in.

While he is focused on the criteria for junior engineers, Andrew paints a picture of an environment that would be conducive for engineers on many levels to learn in. Particularly key on this point is the emphasis he places on permission to experiment and, implicitly, to fail, or at least to have bad ideas. It is through this form of trial and iteration that most people learn best; learning-positive environments typically make a point of fostering this mentality.

There is variety of pathways Andrew identifies in his learning here, beyond just technical skills. According to Technical Architect Elijah, this variety itself is beneficial for our learning capacity.

Perhaps, then, the best learning environments are also those which offer the greatest diversity of learning opportunities.

Organisation size

It’s a matter of opinion whether large or small organisations offer the best learning environments. Smaller companies tend to be environments in which individuals have to wear more hats, which naturally increases the range of tasks they’ll be exposed to. They can often also offer faster progression, as flatter hierarchies give individuals more direct exposure to strategic decision-making, and a closer relationship to senior leadership.

However, there are strong arguments in favour of larger organisations offering better structure and more clearly-defined pathways, particularly for more junior employees, as Co-Founder and CEO Bobby explains.

In terms of the size of the company, it is often the question of what suits an individual best in general that determines where they’ll learn the best. For more detail on this question, see The pros and cons of start-up work.

The world is your classroom

Finally, however, it is worth noting that, while the environment we work in will have a clear and significant impact on our professional learning, it is not the only place in which we will learn skills that benefit us at work. Head of Product Michelle talks here about how she makes herself open to learning in all walks of life.

Equally, as Michelle hints at, work is not the only thing worth learning for. Learning how to cook, crochet, or play the guitar may not have any direct impact at all on our professional lives, but these are skills that can enrich us as people, make us happier outside of work and, perhaps, more satisfied within it.

In this sense, a working environment that is conducive to learning can be seen as one which is also conducive to us being our best selves; one which offers a culture of freedom in which to experiment and express ourselves, one which offers variety, and ultimately, one which enables us to pursue our best work.