New requirements for the psychosocial work environment: Why dialogue matters more than ever
Eirin Eriksen Horvei
October 14, 2026
It's no wonder if you feel the pressure as you try to keep up with how competence needs and learning are changing these days! Change has always been part of working life, but the pace has never been higher than now. It is natural that this creates both uncertainty and a need for new thinking.
New technology, more complex tasks that require cross-functional collaboration, increased demands for efficiency and changing expectations from employees mean that both managers and employees must rethink learning and development.
Research shows that 50% of today's jobs will have changed significantly by 2030 as a result of automation. That doesn't necessarily mean all these jobs will disappear, but that their content will change considerably. McKinsey estimates that as many as 40% of workers will need to retrain over the next five years. And according to HR Norge, as many as 94% of employers expect employees to acquire new skills on the job.
This means that learning can no longer be something that happens sporadically, but must happen continuously as an integral part of the working day.
The way we acquire competence is also changing rapidly. In the past, courses and long training programmes were common. Now, learning more often takes place in shorter, more flexible formats adapted to both needs and the working day.
• Microlearning: Short, targeted sessions that can be built into the workflow and accessed when the need arises.
• Social learning: Sharing knowledge through networks, mentoring and cross-disciplinary projects.
• AI-driven personalisation: Digital systems that adapt content and pace to each individual employee.
Learning will happen more often, closer to the tasks themselves and to a greater extent on the employees' own initiative. As learning becomes more individually tailored, diversity in both content and execution within the same job title also increases.
For example, we can imagine an A team and a B team in the use of artificial intelligence, since much of the learning depends on each individual's curiosity, both during and outside working hours.
When we talk about competence development, we can see three different approaches.
1. Strategic competence development – This is the classic approach, where the company plans and manages training based on the organisation's strategy. In other words, top-down competence development. Needs are documented in matrices, and you build on known knowledge. Learning typically takes place through courses and aims to give you the knowledge you need to carry out your tasks.
2. Chaotic competence development – Here, learning happens spontaneously, without a plan or management. Employees try things out, share experiences and keep up with what's happening. Things “sprout and grow”, but not necessarily in a way that supports the company's goals and purpose.
3. Dynamic competence development – Learning happens in the interaction between people and situations. The need for new knowledge arises along the way, and we do not know in advance what competence we will need. Competence is developed through reflection and action while the tasks are being carried out.
To move from chaotic to dynamic competence, we must create the right conditions. The organisation needs:
• A learning climate
• Relevant information to be shared
• Employees to be given time for learning and exploration
• Competence development to be led rather than controlled from above
All three variants have value, but they should be combined and adapted according to what needs to be delivered. An electrical contractor, for example, will have a greater need for certifications and strategic competence development than a marketing agency. Many organisations have traditionally placed most emphasis on the strategic. The question is how we can better facilitate dynamic learning.
📖 Read about howculture agents can help strengthen learning and competence development through increased engagement, collaboration and well-being in the organisation.
Developing an organisation that is able to learn continuously takes more than courses and plans. It is about culture and interaction. Here are eight drivers that together contribute to a dynamic, learning organisation:
1. Holistic understanding and agility – We must understand why we are here and where we are going. We must know the organisation's vision, mission, values and strategic goals, so that we get the best possible understanding of how we can contribute to the overall goals. We must also be adaptable and agile in relation to changes internally and in our surroundings.
2. Understanding of systems – This is about seeing how processes, structures and roles are connected. Changes made in one place have ripple effects elsewhere. There are also often obstacles in the system that create challenges for the culture. That is why there is a lot to gain from working on continuous improvement with broad involvement.
3. Innovation and creativity – A learning organisation depends on being able to meet new challenges. It is about making room for new ideas, daring to experiment and building a culture where it is OK to try and fail.
4. Autonomy and influence – Autonomy and the ability to influence are key factors for motivation. When employees are given trust, room for manoeuvre and real influence, both engagement and results grow. Employees who are given freedom and responsibility learn more.
5. Social interaction and helping behaviour – Culture is shaped in the relationships between us. Interaction, collaboration and a culture where we help each other create both better results and greater well-being. Especially when the tasks to be solved become increasingly complex and require several heads working together.
6. Learning climate – In a positive learning climate, employees feel safe sharing experiences, asking questions and giving feedback without fear of criticism. This opens up collaboration across departments and roles, and means that knowledge does not stay with individuals but can be used by the whole organisation. At its core lies the belief that we learn and develop skills through dedication and effort.
7. Feedback – A healthy feedback culture allows us to adjust course continuously, learn from each other and build trust. It creates a sense of safety and improves performance.
8. Psychological safety – A working environment where we are not afraid of being met with reprisals or social sanctions for our input, thoughts and ideas. Where employees can easily express themselves and be themselves. Research clearly shows that psychological safety is a prerequisite for learning, innovation and good collaboration. It is a fundamental driver in modern organisational culture.
When knowledge is developed dynamically or chaotically, there is a risk that it becomes invisible. We may risk ending up with:
• Vulnerable competence: Important knowledge that only one or a few employees have.
• Tacit knowledge: Experience-based insight that sits in the body more than in the head.
• Critical competence: Skills that are difficult to replace through external recruitment.
An important task for managers is therefore to capture knowledge and facilitate sharing it wherever possible. It can easily happen that someone takes knowledge with them when they leave the company, without anyone having considered that it needs to be replaced. It may be wise to include a question in the employee appraisal about whether the employee has acquired new competence that is important to share or that the manager should be aware of.
We are in the middle of a time when learning and development are crucial for both individuals and organisations. Competence has a short shelf life, and the ability to adapt to change is a key factor for future success.
Strategic plans are important, but they must be supplemented with room for the unpredictable and for what emerges in day-to-day work. An organisation that facilitates both structure and flexibility will be best equipped to meet the demands of the future.
