When workplace learning fails: individual and organisational limitations – exemplarily demonstrated by the issue of responsibility in work life

There is a consensus in educational, managerial, and business debates that economic and societal changes in globalisation demand knowledge-based enterprises and employees who permanently develop and actualise their competences. Hence, workplace learning has become a crucial aspect of business organisation. However, the mainstream perspective in literature focuses on the individual's demand and responsibility for his or her own success in developing the necessary competences. This contribution focuses on observing the current debates on responsibility in work life and investigates individual and organisational limitations of workplace learning. Taking into consideration two studies on workplace learning, oppositional findings are to be discussed: on the basis of aggregated quantitative data favourable conditions for workplace learning appear. However, qualitative analyses on the level of individual respondents show a somewhat different picture. Employees experience limited participation in crucial aspects and experience limited rewards for individual competence development. This article concludes that successful workplace learning is not only an individual's responsibility but also a crucial task for the management of a business and its workplaces.