Research projects

While the literature emphasizes the benefits of informal workplace learning, there is also a “dark side”— for instance, when employees learn, through modeling or peer exchange, how to bypass safety mechanisms in industrial settings. This potentially hazardous learning is being explored through experimental research designs.

“Humor is when you still laugh”? This project investigates, through experimental methods, how a leader’s humor affects employees’ informal learning and personal development. It also considers the learning-supportive characteristics of the work environment, such as the organizational learning culture.

Individuals working in algorithm-driven environments — such as web design freelancers or drivers in delivery and ride-hailing services — often face negative effects on well-being and health. A field study examines how proactive job crafting and self-regulated, informal learning can mitigate these effects.

In an ever-changing labor market, employability is increasingly crucial. This project investigates how employability can be enhanced through various forms of work-related learning, taking into account factors such as perceived job stress and demographic characteristics of employees.

Work-related learning encompasses diverse forms, with formal, informal, and self-regulated learning being the most prominent. However, conceptual frameworks distinguishing these forms remain scarce, leaving unclear how outcomes differ, for example, between institutionally guided vs. self-directed, on-the-job vs. off-the-job, or online vs. offline learning. This project seeks to clarify these distinctions and consequences.

This project refines the theoretical foundations of the emerging concept of New Learning, increasingly relevant in New Work research. A conceptual framework is empirically tested through longitudinal survey data. Several subprojects are conducted in cooperation with a large transportation and logistics company.

AI technologies are now integral to many workplaces. This project uses experimental methods to examine how individual problem-solving skills and self-regulated learning depend on whether AI assistance is available. One component involves evaluating a learning-oriented prompting intervention using a controlled pre-post design.

Not all work situations promote learning equally. Current research distinguishes between prospective learning opportunities, which foster development, and deficit-based ones, which arise from challenges. The latter may be stressful depending on self-efficacy. This project seeks to better understand when and how workplace learning opportunities become effective.

Perfectionism can both drive and hinder learning: striving for perfection may encourage experimentation, feedback-seeking, and reflection, while excessive worry can inhibit these behaviors. The interaction between personality traits, error culture, and learning climate is studied through diary and longitudinal designs.

Informal learning complements formal training by helping employees build environmental awareness, skills, and attitudes directly in their daily work. However, it can also reinforce unsustainable habits. This project investigates how targeted “green” learning opportunities and feedback processes can foster and anchor sustainable workplace behavior.

Informal learning during university studies prepares students for the transition into working life and is closely linked to later workplace learning. It enhances employability and enables proactive career development. The project examines resource-based trajectories, focusing on personal factors such as self-efficacy and achievement motivation.

Designing one’s training playfully — through self-chosen challenges or creative drills — can enhance motivation, learning enjoyment, and performance. A current study investigates this Playful Work Design concept in professional football, aiming to understand how playful elements can foster learning and development in elite sports.

Manageable everyday stressors can act like a “vaccine” against future stress if they trigger learning. Through experimentation, observation, feedback, and reflection, employees learn to handle challenges flexibly and effectively. This project explores this mechanism theoretically and empirically, deriving practical strategies for strengthening resilience.

Whether stress fosters or impedes learning depends on whether it is perceived as a challenge or an overload. Moderate, controllable stress can stimulate learning, while excessive strain inhibits it. Experimental studies in this project identify the conditions — such as recovery time and autonomy — that enable effective learning under psychological pressure.

Surprisingly, initial findings suggest that deliberate knowledge hiding can, in some cases, promote subsequent informal learning. Conversely, learning through observation and peer exchange may reduce knowledge hiding. This project aims to better understand these dynamics and develop strategies for a more open learning culture.

In the gig economy, access to formal training is often limited, making self-regulated and informal learning crucial. These learning forms can enhance satisfaction, engagement, and long-term performance — if properly supported. This project investigates how gig workers learn professionally and provides recommendations to foster their sustainable career development.