Participation in designated learning opportunities and engagement in workplace learning are very different kinds of professional learning activities: Whereas the former takes place in organised, predefined settings with intended learning objectives, the latter mostly arises as a by-product through everyday experiences at work. Yet, empirical and theoretical models often do not sufficiently differentiate between these two kinds of learning activities. The main goal in the present study is to test whether the two discrete learning activities are indeed facilitated in different ways and by different antecedents. The results of a multi-wave diary study with a sample of 229 German employees show that engagement in workplace learning is not influenced by conscious beliefs connected to learning, which play a central role in most theoretical models explaining participation in designated learning opportunities, underlining the need for an autonomous theory of workplace learning. Furthermore, the current study shows the strong direct, indirect, and moderating influence of organisational learning culture on both kinds of professional learning activities. Possible implications for practitioners to put greater emphasis on organisational factors when designing learning opportunities are discussed.

参加指定的学习机会和参与工作场所学习是非常不同的专业学习活动：前者是在有组织的，预定的环境中进行的，具有预定的学习目标，而后者主要是通过日常工作经验产生的副产品。然而，经验模型和理论模型通常不能充分区分这两种学习活动。本研究的主要目的是测试两个离散学习活动是否确实以不同的方式和不同的先行条件得到了促进。多波日记研究对229名德国员工进行了抽样调查，结果表明，参与工作场所学习不受与学习相关的有意识信念的影响，在大多数解释参与指定学习机会的理论模型中，中心扮演着重要角色，突显了对工作场所学习自主理论的需求。此外，当前的研究表明组织学习文化对两种专业学习活动都具有直接，间接和适度的强烈影响。讨论了在设计学习机会时，从业人员更强调组织因素的可能含义。