Work-learn balance – a new concept that could help bridge the divide between education and working life?

There is a deep divide between the worlds of education and working life. Differences comprise culture, values, processes, tools and more. This divide hinders many people from reaching their fullest potential, instead often demotivating them. Collaboration across the divide can be facilitated by semantic concepts that both sides can relate to. This article attempts to propose a new unifying concept – “work-learn balance” – that the two worlds can appreciate and use when working together. It is defined as when people on a weekly basis combine new value creation for others (“work”) and own personal development (“learn”). It was inductively articulated through action research. Extant research has shown that many people with a good work-learn balance get more motivated and feel a deeper sense of meaning in life, making them work harder and achieve more. Examples are provided from entrepreneurship, innovation, vocational education and entrepreneurial education. Work-learn balance could be used as a visionary organising principle informing leadership strategy. This could facilitate collaboration and unleash the human potential of more students and employees. Work-learn balance as a concept is novel and unexplored, but not previously unheard of. This could be the first attempt to define, describe, substantiate and sense-make it.