The Relationship among Engagement in Workplace Learning Activities, Openness to Learning, and the Extent of Participant Involvement in Informal Learning

Informal learning in the workplace is becoming more important for improving employees’ competencies and organizational performance. Many business organizations use a variety of workplace learning strategies in order to facilitate informal learning among employees. Research on workplace learning explains that formal learning and informal learning interrelate and facilitate each other. This study investigated the relationship among engagement in workplace learning activities, openness to learning, and the extent of participant involvement in informal learning. As a result of quantitative research in a pharmacy company, this study showed the following: (a) openness to learning affects participant involvement in informal learning more than engagement in workplace learning activities does; (b) among types of workplace learning, communities of practice negatively influence internal informal learning, and web-based learning also has a negative effect on involvement in internal, external informal learning and informal learning among newly hired employees, but traditional classroom training positively affects participants’ involvement in informal learning among new employees; and (c) employees at the managerial level involve in informal learning activities more than other employees. These results suggest that business organizations and corporate management should support and facilitate employees to learn with openness as well as provide them with workplace learning opportunities.