Learning is increasingly taking place directly at the workplace. But: When exactly? Many employees simply lack the time to learn new things or consolidate training content. You will learn how specific learning times can solve this problem in companies in the article.
Continuous further education is an important success factor for companies – and many employees are also happy to take up learning offers. More and more companies are relying on modern methods such as e-learning and blends of in-person and online training (blended learning). However, the idea of learning without a seminar room and loss of work has a catch: Time!
Motivation is there – time is lacking
Self-directed learning requires that your employees actually find (or get) the time to engage with materials, online courses, or learning videos. At this point, opinions diverge: Is self-directed learning even part of working hours, or should employees learn in their private time? Especially the trend method e-learning is theoretically perfect for learning on the way to work or from home, rather than at the workplace.
Answers are provided by a study from LinkedIn: 94% of employees would stay longer in a company that supports their professional development. 68% of employees prefer learning at the workplace, and 58% want to learn at their own pace. It is therefore worthwhile to invest in learning times at the workplace for your employees – and thus in their satisfaction.
At the same time, this increases the likelihood that learning offers will actually be used. When learning is officially part of working hours, the threshold for employees to engage with new content significantly decreases. Companies thus create a learning culture in which further education is perceived not as an additional task but as a normal part of work.
Time (mis)use at the workplace?
Even in companies that theoretically support further education at the workplace, practice often looks different: Managers often find no time in their schedules to integrate learning between daily business, phone calls, and meetings. “Just take some time” is easier said than done with a large number of important appointments.
With employees, company culture often disrupts the (time) equation: “Often, there is still a prevailing mindset of ‘If I just look at the computer, I’m not productive!’. For managers, who usually sit with their own computers in their private offices, this is normal. But at the level of shift supervisors or production employees, this is a strong cultural break, leaving the workplace to learn during working hours.” reports business coach Stefan Enzler in an interview about employees in SMEs.
The solution: Establish learning times
The solution to both time and cultural problems could be the introduction of special learning times for your employees. In this learning time, learning is not only tolerated but explicitly desired!
Learning times provide targeted space for
company-mandated training. For example, working on e-learning courses or preparing and following up on blended learning events.
self-chosen learning topics that your employees currently need for their everyday work. For example, research on the internet or reading specialist literature.
learning groups with colleagues, where knowledge is passed internally. For example, exchanging views on common processes or strengthening the collaboration of different teams or departments.
Learning groups with colleagues are a good way to utilize joint learning times in companies.
For organizing learning times, there are a variety of possible models. Below we present three models with their advantages and disadvantages:
1. Fixed learning times:
Your employees have fixed learning times or learning days (depending on their time allocation). For example, “Learning time every Friday from 9 to 11 AM.”
Advantages:
The appointment is binding for all employees and cannot simply be postponed or forgotten.
No employee feels ‘unproductive’ or has to justify why other tasks are not currently completed.
Your employees can more easily form learning groups without having to coordinate different calendars.
Disadvantage:
The individual learning pace of your employees is not taken into account here: After “x hours,” the learning time is over, regardless of how much or how effectively was learned. Also, absences, for example, due to illness, are not compensated.
2. Semi-flexible learning times:
Your employees have a fixed time allotment that must be used as learning time within a limited period. For example, “x hours of learning time weekly” or “x days of learning time per year.”
Advantages:
Your employees can flexibly schedule their learning time in their own calendar. This avoids conflicts with other important appointments or different working hours (especially with shift work or flexitime).
Your employees can partially determine their own learning pace.
Employees can postpone or make up learning times if necessary instead of missing them entirely – for example, in case of illness.
Disadvantage:
The danger: Your employees plan the learning time but keep postponing it due to other tasks, or completely skip it. HR managers or supervisors must give high relevance to the learning time so that it is truly planned and utilized.
3. Flexible learning times:
Your employees have control over how much learning time they actually need. For example, “Schedule learning times in the calendar when you need them.”
Advantages:
Your employees can allocate their learning time completely freely and take time for training or research exactly when they need it.
Self-chosen learning topics are planned when they are acute, and not just days or weeks later. This allows problems to be solved directly when they arise in everyday work.
Self-directed learning at one’s own pace is fully possible.
Disadvantage:
Flexible learning times require a high level of self-responsibility and self-regulation from your employees so that a) they are actually planned, and b) productively utilized. HR and managers need to be able to assess the employees well. For large teams with little personal contact, this method is therefore only conditionally possible.
These are just three suggestions from a variety of options for establishing learning times in companies. Which method fits your company best must be decided individually. Once the decision is made that learning times should be established for employees, it is also best to involve all managers and the employees themselves in the decision!
Conclusion: The Ideal Combination: Learning Times + Presence Times
Companies that consciously establish learning as a fixed part of working hours create the foundations for sustainable further education and successful digital employee training.
Whether fixed, semi-flexible, or completely flexible learning times: What is crucial is that learning visibly has its place in everyday work. When employees know that further education is explicitly desired and that time is available for it, both the utilization of learning offers and their motivation increase.
Learning times become particularly effective when combined with well-thought-out learning formats. Digital learning content, short online courses, or blended learning concepts can be excellently integrated into such time slots and ensure that knowledge is built step by step.
This creates a learning culture where further education does not happen on the side but is consciously promoted and contributes to the development of employees and companies in the long term.
Updated on 03/06/2026
