In my school, we had a huge playground. Some teachers used to take perverse pleasure in making us run around the tracks until we were ready to drop dead. That was their idea of “punishment” for any deviation from flawless behaviour. The result of this punishment technique was that we hated sports. Even today, I don’t watch sports channels unless I stumble upon them.

I am sure my teachers did not actively want me to be averse to sports. But that is what happened. Most employers are using the same approach to make employees hate learning as they cram every bit of free time with skilling modules.

What it takes to learn

As millions of people lose their jobs and find their skills inadequate to make a living, there can be no bigger compulsion to teach people how to learn. Yet learning can happen only when it is enjoyable.

Making learning social is a powerful way to get people to enjoy learning. That may do more for creating a pull among people.

A recent big trend on YouTube are the “With Me” videos where people film themselves going about ordinary tasks like cooking, studying, cleaning, or exercising. More and more viewers are tuning into “with me” videos for company, in-depth information, even motivation.

The top 200 tennis stars struggle to make a living. Players for video games like “League of Legends” make an average salary of $400,000 each. Video game players are entitled to the same visas that other foreign athletes can get. Maybe it is time for businesses to leverage the power of video games. Here are some ideas you can try:

1. Virtual conferences: Hours of streaming movies and online content is changing how people consume content. Learning content must be on video to be engaging. In the days before virtual conferences, employees went away from office to attend a conference. It gave them time to listen to new ideas and network with people beyond their own organisation. Video conferences are becoming better as conference organisers can access great speakers from every country. While attending an online conference, it is tempting for the boss to keep interrupting the employee. Putting an “out of office” to demarcate common learning times is a great way to improve the effectiveness of learning.

2. ‘With me’ videos for team bonding: ‘Clean with me, shop with me, cook with me’ are all gathering millions of views in every country, according to YouTube data. ‘ With me videos’ can be powerful ways for people to bond with each other, specifically during times of lockdowns.

3. ‘Study with me’ videos to build skills: If you have not seen the ‘study with me’ videos on YouTube, check them out. Several of them have millions of hits. They stream someone studying. Yes, that’s it. Watching someone focused inspires others too. It keeps the person focused, because they know thousands are watching. Imagine if the boss live-streamed himself reading and taking notes. It could build a love for learning in the team. It makes learning social.

Catch the trend

Work from home is a new workspace to be configured. All the experience we have gathered working in the offices is useless. It is time to be curious and try different ways to build the path ahead. In the post pandemic world, video could place you in the league of legends who tried out these ideas. Go ahead and become a legend.

Abhijit Bhaduri is a coach and talent management expert

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