Think about tying your shoelaces. You tie the perfect knot, but over time it loosens. So, you untie it and tie it again.
Our skills and habits are no different. What once worked perfectly might not work forever.
Sometimes, to move forward, we need to unlearn.
Unlearning means recognising what’s outdated, challenging what we’ve always done and making room for a better approach.
Here’s the principle worth holding onto through all of this: you can’t always control another person’s behaviour. You can usually exercise far more control over your own response, the boundaries you set, and what you choose to do next.
What Does Unlearning Look Like at Work?
It might mean letting go of an old system, changing how you manage people or finally questioning the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality.
Many workplace habits develop over time. A particular process becomes standard practice, a management style gets passed from one supervisor to another, or a team continues following the same approach simply because it has always worked.
But workplaces don’t stand still. Technology changes, customer expectations evolve, employees develop new skills and organisations introduce different ways of working.
A process that was once efficient might now be creating unnecessary work. A management approach that suited a small team might become less effective as responsibilities grow. Even a familiar communication style can lead to misunderstandings when circumstances change.
Unlearning at work isn’t about forgetting everything we know. It’s about recognising when an established way of thinking or working is no longer serving its purpose.
Organisations regularly invest in teaching employees new skills, introducing technologies and improving workplace processes. However, learning something new doesn’t automatically mean people will stop using old habits.
Consider a manager who attends leadership training and learns how to delegate more effectively.
During the workshop, they recognise the benefits of giving employees greater responsibility. But once they’re back at work, they continue checking every small detail because that’s how they’ve always managed their team.
The manager has gained new knowledge, but their established habits are preventing them from applying it.
This is where unlearning becomes important.
According to Jobs and Skills Australia’s Jobs and Skills Report 2025, technological change and other structural developments are reshaping Australia’s workforce and the capabilities workers need.
As workplace requirements change, employees and managers need more than opportunities to acquire new skills. They also need to recognise when existing practices should be reconsidered.
Unlearning can help organisations:
- Adapt to changing workplace requirements.
- Reduce reliance on outdated processes.
- Improve communication and collaboration.
- Encourage employees to question assumptions.
- Support the adoption of new technologies.
- Develop more adaptable leadership approaches.
The objective isn’t to encourage constant change. It’s to make sure familiar practices aren’t preventing better outcomes.
Unlearning doesn’t always involve major organisational transformation. Sometimes, it begins with a small change in how an individual approaches an everyday task.
1. Letting Go of Outdated Workplace Processes
Every organisation has processes that were introduced for a reason.
Perhaps a particular reporting method was necessary before new software became available. Maybe an approval process helped prevent mistakes when the team was smaller.
Over time, those circumstances may have changed.
For example, a team might continue manually compiling information into spreadsheets even though its current system can produce the same report automatically.
The process remains because everyone is familiar with it, not necessarily because it’s still the best approach.
Unlearning begins by asking:
“If we were designing this process today, would we still do it the same way?”
This doesn’t mean abandoning established procedures without consideration. It means examining whether they remain appropriate for the organisation’s current needs.
2. Changing How You Manage People
One of the clearest examples of workplace unlearning involves the transition from employee to manager.
Someone may have built a successful career by being the person who solves problems, completes difficult tasks and knows the answers.
After becoming a manager, however, that same approach can become a limitation.
Instead of developing their employees, they continue taking responsibility for everything themselves.
Unlearning might mean recognising that effective management isn’t always about personally delivering the best result. It’s also about helping other people develop the skills and confidence to perform well.
This could involve delegating more effectively, asking questions rather than immediately providing answers, and giving employees appropriate responsibility.
For organisations developing new supervisors and managers, practical leadership training can help employees reconsider established habits and develop more effective approaches to managing people.
3. Questioning the “We’ve Always Done It This Way” Mentality
Few phrases can discourage workplace improvement as quickly as:
“We’ve always done it this way.”
Sometimes, an established approach genuinely is the most appropriate option.
But when familiarity becomes the only reason for continuing something, it can prevent employees from considering alternatives.
Imagine a team that holds a lengthy weekly meeting because it has been part of the routine for years.
Everyone attends, updates are shared and the meeting continues as scheduled. Yet much of the information could be communicated more efficiently through a shorter discussion or written update.
Unlearning means being willing to ask whether the meeting still serves its original purpose.
The same thinking applies to internal approvals, customer service processes, communication practices and everyday administrative tasks.
The question isn’t whether the old method was wrong.
It’s whether it remains the most useful method today.
4. Rethinking Workplace Communication
Communication habits can be difficult to change because people often assume their preferred style works equally well for everyone.
A manager may believe that providing instructions is enough to ensure understanding.
An employee may assume that a brief email contains all the information their colleagues need.
A supervisor might interpret silence during a meeting as agreement.
But these assumptions don’t always hold.
Unlearning an ineffective communication habit might involve asking more questions, checking understanding or adapting the way information is delivered.
For example, instead of saying:
“I’ve already explained this.”
A manager might ask:
“Which part would be helpful for us to clarify?”
The change is small, but it creates an opportunity for a more productive conversation.
Developing effective workplace communication skills can support employees and managers in recognising habits that may be contributing to misunderstandings or unnecessary conflict.
5. Becoming More Open to Feedback
Experience is valuable, but it can sometimes make people reluctant to reconsider familiar approaches.
An experienced employee might assume that their established method is already the most efficient.
A manager may become defensive when a team member suggests an alternative.
Unlearning requires recognising that experience and improvement aren’t opposites.
Someone can be highly capable at their job while still having habits that could be improved.
Instead of immediately defending an existing approach, employees can ask:
“What might I be missing?”
“Is there another way to look at this?”
“What could I learn from this feedback?”
Being willing to reconsider an assumption doesn’t invalidate previous experience. It allows that experience to continue developing.
If unlearning can improve workplace performance, why do people often find it uncomfortable?
One reason is that familiar habits require less conscious effort.
When we’ve completed a task in a particular way hundreds of times, we can often perform it almost automatically. Trying a different approach may initially feel slower, less natural or more demanding.
Research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology examined how habits develop through repeated behaviour in consistent contexts. The study found substantial variation in how long participants took to develop automaticity, reinforcing that habits develop through repetition rather than instantly.
You can explore the original research in Lally and colleagues’ study on habit formation.
Another challenge is that people may associate their established methods with professional competence.
A manager who has successfully led teams for years might feel that changing their leadership style means admitting their previous approach was wrong.
But a method can have been effective in the past and still need to change today.
Unlearning isn’t an admission of failure. It’s a recognition that different circumstances may require different approaches.
Unlearning doesn’t have to begin with a major organisational initiative.
Often, the most practical starting point is identifying one habit, assumption or process that isn’t working as well as it could.
Step 1: Identify What Isn’t Working
Think about a recurring workplace frustration.
Perhaps your team spends too much time preparing reports. Maybe the same communication problem keeps appearing, or employees struggle with a process that has become unnecessarily complicated.
Ask yourself whether an established habit could be contributing to the issue.
Step 2: Question the Assumption Behind the Habit
Many workplace habits are supported by beliefs that people rarely examine.
For example:
- “If I don’t check everything myself, mistakes will happen.”
- “Meetings are the best way to keep everyone informed.”
- “Employees should already know what’s expected.”
- “Changing the process will only create more work.”
Rather than immediately accepting or rejecting these assumptions, consider whether they’re still accurate.
Step 3: Try a Different Approach
Choose one manageable change.
A manager might delegate a task with clearer outcomes and fewer unnecessary check-ins.
A team might replace a recurring meeting with a short written update.
An employee might ask for feedback earlier in a project rather than waiting until the work is complete.
The purpose is to test whether a different approach produces a better result.
Step 4: Reflect on What Changed
After trying something different, consider what happened.
Did the new approach save time?
Did communication improve?
Were employees more confident?
Did an unexpected problem emerge?
Not every new method will be better. Unlearning requires judgement, reflection and a willingness to adjust.
Step 5: Reinforce the New Habit
Recognising an outdated habit is only the beginning.
When workloads increase or pressure builds, people may return to familiar behaviours.
Managers may resume micromanaging. Employees may fall back into old processes. Teams may gradually return to previous routines.
Consistent practice, feedback and reinforcement can help make a more effective approach part of everyday work.
Managers can influence whether employees feel comfortable questioning established practices.
If every suggestion is met with “that’s not how we do things here”, employees may stop proposing improvements.
However, encouraging unlearning doesn’t mean abandoning procedures or challenging every decision.
It means creating appropriate opportunities to examine what is working and what could be improved.
One practical approach is to introduce three questions during team reviews:
What should we keep doing?
Identify the practices that continue to work well.
What should we stop doing?
Consider habits, processes or assumptions that may no longer serve their purpose.
What should we start doing differently?
Explore alternatives that could improve outcomes.
Managers can also demonstrate unlearning through their own behaviour.
When a leader acknowledges that a familiar approach needs to change, listens to feedback or adjusts their management style, they show employees that improvement is an ongoing process.
Organisations must also provide the necessary support. Employees cannot always change established practices when policies, systems or management expectations prevent them from doing so.
One of the biggest misconceptions about unlearning is that it requires abandoning previous knowledge or experience.
It doesn’t.
Much of what employees learn throughout their careers remains valuable.
The challenge is recognising which approaches continue to work and which may need to be reconsidered.
An experienced customer service employee doesn’t need to forget everything they know about helping customers when a new system is introduced.
They may simply need to change how they access information, communicate updates or resolve particular issues.
Similarly, an experienced manager doesn’t need to abandon accountability to become a more supportive leader.
They may need to reconsider how they delegate responsibilities, provide feedback or communicate expectations.
Unlearning is not about rejecting experience.
It’s about making sure experience doesn’t prevent improvement.
Developing new workplace capabilities sometimes requires employees and managers to reconsider established habits and ways of thinking.
Preferred Training Networks offers a wide range of workplace training courses covering leadership, communication, management and other practical professional skills.
Organisations looking to support employees through changing workplace expectations can explore training options that address their teams’ specific development needs.
What is unlearning in the workplace?
Unlearning at work means recognising when established habits, assumptions or methods are no longer effective and being willing to reconsider them. It doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting previous knowledge. Instead, it involves making room for approaches that better suit current workplace requirements.
Why is unlearning important for employees?
Unlearning helps employees adapt when workplace processes, technologies, responsibilities or expectations change. By questioning established habits, employees can identify practices that may no longer be useful and become more open to applying new knowledge and skills.
What is an example of unlearning at work?
A manager who routinely checks every detail of their employees’ work may recognise that this approach limits delegation and employee development. Unlearning could involve replacing constant supervision with clearer expectations, appropriate responsibility and regular progress discussions.
What is the difference between learning and unlearning?
Learning involves developing new knowledge, skills or understanding. Unlearning involves reconsidering established assumptions or behaviours that may interfere with improvement. The two often work together because applying a new skill may require changing an existing habit.
How can organisations encourage unlearning?
Organisations can encourage unlearning by inviting employees to review established processes, discussing what is and isn’t working, supporting appropriate experimentation and giving people opportunities to practise new approaches. Managers can reinforce this by demonstrating adaptability and responding constructively to feedback.
Find one thing that isn’t quite working and ask yourself:
Is this something I need to unlearn?
It might be an outdated process, a communication habit, an assumption you’ve stopped questioning or a management approach that no longer produces the results you want.
Start small.
Identify what isn’t working, consider why the habit exists and explore whether a different approach could be more effective.
Sometimes, moving forward isn’t just about learning something new.
It’s about being willing to let go of something old.
