Important but not urgent: exploring e-learning at work

What the paper says

Purpose This study aims to investigate how employees enact a corporate e-learning platform in everyday work. It further examines how these enactments influence workplace learning and professional development, highlighting the ambivalent dynamics that arise when digital learning technologies become part of organisational routines. By moving beyond behaviourist approaches, this study provides a nuanced account of how digital learning is both enabled and constrained in the work context. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a constructivist, sociomaterial perspective, the case study draws on 17 semi-structured interviews with employees from various departments, including human resource (HR) and the works council, in an international conglomerate. Virtual interviews enabled screen-sharing to support data interpretation. The empirical material was examined through reflexive thematic analysis. Findings The platform configures learning as both ambivalent and increasingly individualised. Through its design and metrics, learning is subtly shaped by datafication, influencing how employees perceive their performance and organisational expectations. Combined with temporal pressures, platform flexibility and work demands, these dynamics shift responsibility for learning onto employees. Limited guidance from HR programs and managers leaves them to navigate and manage learning largely on their own. Originality/value While corporate e-learning is often evaluated quantitatively, this study provides an in-depth, qualitative account of how such platforms are experienced and enacted. It offers new insights into the ambivalent role of digital learning technologies in shaping – not merely delivering – workplace learning.