Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2021 - 55

SRINI PIL LAY, M.D.

SCIENCE OF
LEARNING

ENHANCE LEARNING AGILITY AND
INNOVATION WITH VIRTUAL REALITY

Learning agility and innovation are in
huge demand. As Worley and Jules
point out, redeploying talent, establishing
remote workforces and flows, building
necessary capabilities, propping up
distressed supply chains, contributing to
humanitarian efforts, deciding between
furloughing or retaining employees, and
planning for reopening amid uncertainty
are just a few of the challenges currently
facing many organizations.

VIRTUAL REALITY
MENTAL RESET
PROGRAMS MAY BE
JUST THE SOLUTION
WE NEED.
Tackling these challenges with a series
of Zoom meetings is likely to exhaust
individuals and teams, depleting agility
and innovation at a time when they are
needed most. During such times, virtual
reality (VR) mental reset programs may
be just the solution we need. As the chief
scientific officer of Reulay, an immersive
machine learning platform, I am witnessing
firsthand the benefits of and scientific
evidence backing VR.
So, what exactly does VR offer?
MENTAL VACATIONS ON DEMAND
Being " present " is a big ask when
people face immense social, political
and biological chaos on a daily basis. In
the past, vacations served as the mental
resets employees needed. Now that
few people are able to go anywhere, VR
programs can offer a mental escape when

needed. And the beauty is these solutions
can be implemented at any time, in
any place.
Vacations do not always reduce stress.
However, when they are planned and
designed to reduce stress - as VR enables
- vacations can build the resilience
necessary for agility and innovation. You
may think you do not have the time to take
off. However, one study found that people
who took less than 10 of their vacation
days per year had a 34.6% likelihood of
receiving a raise or bonus in a three-year
period of time, whereas people who took
more than 10 of their vacation days had a
65.4% chance of receiving a raise or bonus.
MENTAL REJUVENATION AND
RESILIENCE
Spend 10 minutes walking through the
woods, flying through the air or strolling
across a desert while listening to music
or an audio book. For those 10 minutes,
your mind has a chance to recuperate
and get back into gear to operate at a
higher capacity.
Leisure activities promote physiological and
psychological well-being, and naturalistic
environments promote relaxation and wellbeing. Moreover, VR can stimulate brain
regions that decrease stress and anxiety.
FREEDOM FROM MONOTONY
In the past, you may have been able
to escape boredom and monotony by
having a " home " and " work " life. Now, VR
could be just the place that you go to for
environmental diversity.

Especially when work feels monotonous
or disengaging, the novelty factors of VR
can boost cognitive functioning.
TIME TO GENERATE IDEAS
When you daydream or relax by immersing
yourself in a virtual environment, your
brain is better able to connect thoughts
and form new ideas. Being immersed in
virtual environments can also help you
discover new cognitive models necessary
for navigating uncertainty and innovating.
Daydreaming can also boost creativity.
While there are distinct advantages of
VR, this is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
When employing VR, it is important to
understand that some side effects can
occur, especially with prolonged use.
Cybersickness, resulting in symptoms
such as dizziness and vomiting, is the
most common side effect, and eyestrain
and fatigue can also occur.
For these reasons, well-planned use of
VR is important. Yet, when employed
strategically, VR can boost learning agility
and innovation by replenishing energy,
stimulating interest and encouraging
creativity as you daydream your way
through a fantasy world designed to
augment and enhance the reality of dayto-day work.
Dr. Srini Pillay is the CEO of NeuroBusiness
Group. He is a Harvard trained psychiatrist
and neuroscientist, and on the Consortium
for Learning Innovation at McKinsey &
Company. He is also the author of, " Tinker
Dabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the
Unfocused Mind. " Email Srini.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE - VIRTUAL LEARNING I W WW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2021

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