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Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

sloanreview.mit.edu

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Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#21

Post by mrlala »

swarnie_ wrote: post #4

This is why i love my current employer and i won't leave unless i'm forced to. We have a policy of "Chargeable work always comes first but if you've got nothing to do go learn something, we'll call you when something comes in" This has lead to times before where we go dead around the same time every year and you spend 2 months being paid to independently upskill. Come the busy November-February period its really obvi…

>but if you've got nothing to do

I wish that was ever the case with me! One of the downsides of being part of a very small team.. there is always too much to do. But it is important to take advantage of any times where it's a little less crazy than others to continue to learn new stuff.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#22

Post by cushychicken »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #3

That you should “always be learning” is absolutely true. It helps with neuro-plasticity and keeps you engaged. That said, as a manager I find it hard to get direct reports to accept sometimes that it is not only okay, but required, by me that they learn new things. I do what I can to encourage it, offer to buy books for people, give time to do online course work, etc. They often complain that they don’t feel like the…

>I find it hard to get direct reports to accept sometimes that it is not only okay, but required, by me that they learn new things

Does this apply to skills that might be more applicable to another team?

My current manager encourages learning, but shoos me away from topics that are handled by other managers. Frustratingly, he's blocked transitions of mine to other teams with work that I've found interesting and educated myself on.

How do you prioritize learning, and balance it against your interests as a manager to keep your resources focused on your objectives?

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#23

Post by runninganyways »

This is one of the reasons I quit programming. I could be spending time improving as a developer but instead they've got me doing some totally inconsequential "bug" fix (spend the next two hours updating this translation for the third time). I just got sick of someone rationalizing me doing non work by saying it's better for the business as though I have no broader perspective of what might be better for the business. It was just bullshit.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#24

Post by WrtCdEvrydy »

jpincheira wrote: post #18
Bootwizard wrote: post #9

I'm currently a frontend engineer. I told my team lead a while back that I'd like to transition to the server side, especially since our server team is woefully understaffed and our frontend team is overstaffed. He told me "Sure but you'll need to learn all that stuff on your own time". So I never did it because I'm interested in doing other things at home.

Bad. Went I went from JS front end to iOS, I was put in a learning period on my own + internship in the iOS team and that worked great. It’s how companies like Spotify also did it. They paid companies like the Big Nerd Ranch to travel to Stockholm and give workshops to future iOS devs. They benefited and I also did, as it helped me evolve into a full-stack (web, mobile & server) developer. This was essential for me t…

We have a formal mentorship program and employees get 4 hours a month for professional development. We still feel we fail them.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#25

Post by ken »

Bootwizard wrote: post #9

I'm currently a frontend engineer. I told my team lead a while back that I'd like to transition to the server side, especially since our server team is woefully understaffed and our frontend team is overstaffed. He told me "Sure but you'll need to learn all that stuff on your own time". So I never did it because I'm interested in doing other things at home.

I’m amazed to hear this from programmers. You can learn this for free, anywhere, at any time.

I’m no longer in software and when I want to upgrade my skills, I’m doing it on my own time and my own dime. Often doubly so if I have to take time off work (hourly) for training.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#26

Post by EliRivers »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #3

That you should “always be learning” is absolutely true. It helps with neuro-plasticity and keeps you engaged. That said, as a manager I find it hard to get direct reports to accept sometimes that it is not only okay, but required, by me that they learn new things. I do what I can to encourage it, offer to buy books for people, give time to do online course work, etc. They often complain that they don’t feel like the…

I've just had a preliminary conversation about people's next set of objectives.

Training is on there (with a 5% of time budget for it), and if they don't achieve their objectives, their next appraisal will go badly. Pay rises and promotions and so on depend on good appraisals, and I anticipate some quarterly review meetings in which I tell people that they're on track to do badly because they're not meeting their training objectives.

If having their training objectives written in black and white, and being reviewed quarterly and appraised annually on whether or not they're meeting their objectives doesn't make it "okay", well, I guess I'll have to come up with something else, but I sure hope that will make it clear.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#27

Post by ghaff »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #24
jpincheira wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad. Went I went from JS front end to iOS, I was put in a learning period on my own + internship in the iOS team and that worked great. It’s how companies like Spotify also did it. They paid companies like the Big Nerd Ranch to travel to Stockholm and give workshops to future iOS devs. They benefited and I also did, as it helped me evolve into a full-stack (web, mobile & server) developer. This was essential for me t…

We have a formal mentorship program and employees get 4 hours a month for professional development. We still feel we fail them.

>4 hours a month for professional development

So half a day a month? That's pretty much nothing. Maybe time to work through a couple chapters of a book on some new topic.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#28

Post by rvense »

Bootwizard wrote: post #9

I'm currently a frontend engineer. I told my team lead a while back that I'd like to transition to the server side, especially since our server team is woefully understaffed and our frontend team is overstaffed. He told me "Sure but you'll need to learn all that stuff on your own time". So I never did it because I'm interested in doing other things at home.

Your lead made a mistake there. Someone with understanding of both FE and BE is worth as much as one of each, especially when they have intimate knowledge of your actual code.

Re: Learning at work is work, and we must make space for it

#30

Post by imgabe »

ken wrote: post #25
Bootwizard wrote: post #9

I'm currently a frontend engineer. I told my team lead a while back that I'd like to transition to the server side, especially since our server team is woefully understaffed and our frontend team is overstaffed. He told me "Sure but you'll need to learn all that stuff on your own time". So I never did it because I'm interested in doing other things at home.

I’m amazed to hear this from programmers. You can learn this for free, anywhere, at any time. I’m no longer in software and when I want to upgrade my skills, I’m doing it on my own time and my own dime. Often doubly so if I have to take time off work (hourly) for training.

Your time isn't free. Doubly so when you are spending it to benefit someone else.
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