Learning By Osmosis

As a supervisor, I often find myself discussing the idea of learning by osmosis with my junior colleagues. While I am an advocate for hybrid working, and the freedom to choose how you want to work, I will often discuss the benefits of learning by osmosis as this is one of the key benefits of working in the office.

So, when we talk about learning by osmosis, we’re referring to the idea that we can absorb new information and skills simply by being exposed to them. This happens unconsciously, and we don’t need to make any active effort to learn.

The classic example is learning by what others are doing around you,. For example, how they speak on the phone, and/or with each other. A quick chat or conversation where they explain something in more detail where you benefit from learning something new.

However, the problem with barriers, is that this can sometime be yet another hurdle to overcome. For example, if I can’t hear in the office, or at an event, or on a call. Therefore, the opportunities to learn by osmosis are limited. What happens unconsciously for a lot of other people, becomes a more conscious and active effort to be able to benefit (if at all).

I’ve been struggling with this this week. Being in the office more regularly and being surrounded by people, can make it more obvious what I miss out on.

So I’m looking for solutions for this at the moment. If anyone has any tips/suggestions do let me know in the comments or by dropping me an email.