Top 9 Most Common Barriers to Learning Explained

In any organization or a workplace, the employees of the firm must stay updated with the changing and developing market environment. It helps the employee to stay relevant in the organization and grow at a faster pace.

Hence, continuous and consistent learning is very imperative through the various training and development programs designed by the HR of the organization and through self-learning techniques such as reading and internet research amongst others.

However, there are various Barriers to Learning that hinders the growth and development of the employee. These need to be identified in time.

Let us discuss the Top 9 Barriers to Learning

#1. Mental and Physical State

The mental state of mind and physical health of an employee can be one of the biggest Barriers to Learning if he is not in the correct order and condition. No matter how motivated the employee is, if his mental and physical capacity is affected or worn out, he will be unable to grasp and learn important details.

Some of the issues that act as Barriers to Learning are mentioned herewith;

Low or high blood sugar

Cold and Cough

Pain in any part of the body

Anxiety

Depression

High blood pressure or low blood pressure

Or any sort of physical or mental discomfort

#2. Environmental Conditions

Internal and External environmental conditions can act as the Barriers to Learning as it makes the ambience for the trainees and employees of the organization quite cumbersome and unhealthy.

Internal environment factors comprise of lack of good seating arrangements, IT and support infrastructure facilities, air conditioning during summers, and noisy work environment.

External environment factors include extreme humidity and cold atmosphere. If the monsoons are at its peak, the employees are quite distracted with the weather conditions and wish to reach home on time.

Majorly, internal environment conditions have a severe effect on the learning atmosphere, and the management of the firm has to take corrective actions to solve the related issues.

#3. Low levels of confidence

When the employee has low levels of confidence during the learning and training procedures, it affects his ability to be agile and take on the learning tasks and exercises in a poised manner.

For instance, during corporate training games, group discussions, giving a presentation, and networking with his fellow peers; he will not be in a position to give his 100% percent owing to the lack of confidence.

Low levels of confidence can arise due to various reasons such as no motivation, family issues, elevated work pressure, and health issues amongst others.

#4. Bad experience of the previous training sessions

If the previous learning and training sessions were not worthwhile, productive, and effective for the employee, this feeling and perspective would act as the Barriers to Learning

Hence, it is always advised to the trainers to keep the learning and training literature short and crisp with its relevance to the industry domain. Plus there should be a right factor of entertainment and fun for the employees to learn while enjoying making it more healthy and productive for them.

#5. Fear to Fail

Fear to fail can also be termed as one of the major reasons for the Barriers to Learning.

Fear of failure grips the mind of the trainee and shapes it in a bad and negative fashion, making him look and feel demotivated and low on energy. Plus it makes it quite hard for the employee to retain and process the information shared during the learning procedure.

The trainer needs to figure out if any of his trainees are facing the issue of fear and take necessary steps to combat the same making them feel motivated and confident.

#6. Lack of Innovation

Employees who have been with the organization for quite many years know all the tricks of the trade as they are backed by the wealth of experience and knowledge in the industry. Hence, if the content of the learning literature and the overall approach is not novel and high on innovation, it will make a boring affair for them.

Hence, it is vital for the management and HR of the organization to plan, design, and execute the training programs that cater to the old and veteran employees as well, along with the new ones.

#7. No Motivation

When an employee feels demotivated, it acts as one of the biggest Barriers to Learning as there is a lack of zeal and motivation to learn new things for his growth and development.

Feeling demotivated can arise owing to the various factors such as low pay package, office politics, issues with the immediate superior or teammates, lack of support from the management of the firm, and work tasks that are not very challenging and relevant amongst others.

In such a case, management of the firm is the real culprit behind the lack of motivation in employees.

#8. Fear to embrace change

An employee has to understand that change is an only constant thing, and success comes from moving out of the comfort zones. At the end of the training and learning session, an employee might be assigned additional tasks that are new and require more efforts and time from him.

It might change his profile a bit but will surely bring him success. But if the employee fears to embrace the change with open arms, it acts as Barriers to Learning.

#9. Unwilling to Unlearn

As mentioned earlier, almost each and every industry domain is undergoing a lot of change owing to the power of digitization and social media. And changing times demand new tips and tricks to handle the business operations and attain the streak of success.

And many of the employees resist change and to unlearn the things that are going to be quite irrelevant in the future as they are confined to their comfort zones. It not only acts as the Barriers to Learning but also hampers their growth and development.

Conclusion:

Training and Development sessions are one of the major factors for the employees of the organization to learn new things. Despite the various Barriers to Learning, it is prime duty and onus of the trainer to iron out the issues and make learning sessions quite fruitful and productive for the trainees.