The 3 Most Common Myths Of Employee Learning: Debunked

Asking for help is challenging. As research in neuroscience and psychology suggests, the feeling of uncertainty, fear of rejection or a diminished status all activate the same region in the brain that  physical pain does. In the workplace, employees want to demonstrate their expertise and exude confidence in the role they were hired for. Employees are now faced with a challenge where, as technology reshapes the future of work, they need to learn new skills and often require help from their manager to do so. However, for many, it is still a daunting task to ask their employer for training and development help. 

A recent survey from edX backs up this sentiment, where almost half of respondents reported that they did not feel comfortable asking their employer for help with learning costs. The survey also found that more than one third of respondents have experienced a lack of proficiency in at least one new skill area or subject area of a current or past job. This demonstrates that workers are aware that they aren’t fully prepared for today’s changing skill requirements — yet almost half of them are also uncertain how best to ask for help with training.

Part of this has to do with the stigma associated with asking. There are several key misconceptions that managers have in regards to why their employees may ask for learning opportunities. By debunking these misconceptions, managers can empower their employees to get the training they need to be successful. 

• Myth #1: The employee doesn’t know how to do their job. Employees can be intimidated to ask for help for fear of how that will reflect on them. Will this look like they don’t know how to do their job? Will their boss question their abilities and/or current skillset? The reality is, in the future of work, everyone will need to be updating their skills. Employees that proactively ask are simply self-aware of this known fact. Instead, managers should take this ask as a sign of engagement with the company and a sign that their employee simply wants to be the best at their job. They should also consider how the training that their employee is seeking will also benefit the company. 
• Myth #2: The employee is using the training budget to learn a new skill and then leave the company. No employer wants to invest in their competitors’ new talent. However, companies that do not invest in the professional growth of their employees will be set up for failure regardless. No star employee wants to stay at a company that doesn’t appear to value them. And even if an employee does eventually leave, they will speak highly of their positive experience, potentially serving as a referral for future job candidates. According to LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report, 93% of employees noted that they are more likely to stay with a company longer if it invests in their careers. Additionally, organizations that demonstrate a strong culture of learning often have higher retention and engagement rates (30-50% higher) than those that don’t.
• Myth #3: Offering learning opportunities makes employees less productive. Many managers think that if they offer learning opportunities for their employees, less work will get done. While there may be an initial time investment, the tradeoff will ultimately be beneficial to the business, as employees apply their new knowledge and skills on the job. In fact, 77% of employees agree that a culture of learning allows them to do their best work, 76% see the impact in productivity and efficiency and another 74% draw a correlation between culture and their ability to serve their customer base. 

For a successful workforce, it is critical to support training and development opportunities for all employees. Part of that work means acknowledging the myths associated with these types of requests, and dispelling them. Instead, we can look at corporate learning as mutually beneficial to both employer and employee. 

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.