Learning, Working and Living: An Introduction

Learning and knowing have emerged in recent years as key issues in understanding work organizations. The popularization of ideas such as that of the ‘learning organization’ have contributed to the growing debate about the nature of learning at work. Identifying ways in which learning can be supported in the workplace has been a long-standing concern within the organization studies and education literatures alike. What perhaps is particularly interesting to note is that the debate has moved from a focus on formal and informal ways of supporting learning to ways in which learning can become a part of working life. Hence, the debate is not simply about new ways to improve workplace learning. It extends to the question of how we can achieve better sustainability and renewal of organizational resources at the same time as we allow learning to be the driving force behind a more human engagement with the challenges working life provides. Therefore, consistent with much current thinking about lifelong learning, it is critical that learning is central to life’s journey and working is lived as a learning journey too.