Search results

Today’s unpredictable and fast-changing work environment challenges researchers and organizations to rethink learning. In contrast to traditional learning designs, new learning frameworks such as agile learning are more learner centered, integrated into the workplace and socially shaped. The purpose of this study is to examine Working Out Loud (WOL) as an agile learning method.

This intervention study used a pre–post and six-month follow-up design (N = 507) to evaluate the effects of WOL on learners’ vigor (affective outcome), WOL behavior (behavioral outcome) and psychological empowerment (cognitive outcome) at work.

The authors compared the three longitudinal measurements using multilevel modeling. Results revealed that WOL could significantly increase learners’ WOL behavior and psychological empowerment at work in the post and six-month follow-up measurements. No effect was found on learners’ vigor at work.

This study highlights the need for research on new, more agile learning frameworks and discusses their relevance to the literature. Agile learning frameworks enable learners to be more autonomous and flexible, allowing them to better adapt to changing environmental demands.

Previous research on agility has focused on investigating agile practices as external structures (e.g. Scrum, Kanban) that make people do agile. A new line of research is increasingly examining internal structures (e.g. mindsets, attitudes) that cause people to be agile. The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the agile mindset as a new construct in psychological research.

This two-wave study (N = 411) examined the agile mindset’s factorial, discriminant, and incremental validity. The authors tested whether the agile mindset adds predictive value for occupational behavior (performance and innovative work behavior) and well-being at work (vigor and emotional exhaustion), above well-established internal dispositions, namely core self-evaluation, proactive personality, and prevention vs promotion focus.

The results indicate that the agile mindset positively predicts performance and innovative work behavior beyond core self-evaluation, proactive personality, and prevention vs promotion focus. Concerning well-being, only positive effects for vigor were found in comparison with prevention vs promotion focus.

The findings are useful for organizations looking to improve their agility to increase competitiveness in complex environments.

This study underscores the importance of further exploration into the agile mindset, emphasizing its significance in organizational psychology.