You know what I love? Spending 7 hours in a training course that tells me to “embrace disruption” while I slowly lose the will to live.
However, modern workplace learning has become a glorified stopwatch competition.
“I did 30 hours of training last quarter!”
“Wow, amazing! What did you learn?”
“…uh. How to click ‘Next’ very fast.”
We’re obsessed with hours completed, like learning is an endurance sport. As if doing 100 sit-ups while eating a cheeseburger still counts as a diet.
Learning ≠ Growth
What if learning wasn’t measured in hours, but in outcomes?
Imagine: 5 minutes of sharp, targeted insight that actually changes how someone works vs. 3 days of a “strategic alignment workshop” where the only alignment achieved is between your chair and your spine.
But no, give someone a 3-minute video that teaches them how to write a killer cold email and they say:
“That’s too short to count as training.”
As if a good idea only becomes valid after it’s been padded with 45 minutes of fluff and a PDF nobody reads.
ROI? Nah, Just Give Me the Badge
We’ve mistaken consumption for capability. I’ve seen people proudly collect certificates of attendance like Pokémon cards.
“Look! I got one from that course I slept through on Zoom!”
When did “I sat through it” become the same as “I grew from it”?
We’re confusing learning time with learning value. That’s like judging your doctor by how long they stare at your x-ray, not whether they fix the problem.
The Science Is Clear (But Who Cares?)
Cognitive research has said it for decades: short, spaced, meaningful learning works best. But sure, let’s stick to the full-day workshops with free muffins. After all, muffins = engagement, right?
What if we stopped glorifying how long people spent in training and started tracking whether they actually did something differently after?
Here’s a Thought
Maybe we stop designing learning like a medieval punishment (“Sit here for 7 hours and thou shalt be wiser”) and start treating it like a tool: precise, timely, and actually useful.
Instead of “Complete 10 hours of compliance training,” try:
“Here’s a 5-minute lesson that will prevent you from accidentally destroying the company.”
Final Word
I’m not anti-learning. I’m just anti-wasting-time-in-the-name-of-learning.
If you want real growth, stop counting hours and start counting outcomes.
Because at the end of the day, no one ever got promoted for their certificate of attendance.
P.S. If your LMS only tracks time and not transformation, maybe it’s time to learn something new.
