Learning requires inefficiency. Businesses, which seek to maximize productivity and profit, would rarely, if ever, accept such a trade-off. The main reason they invest in automation, after all, is to reduce labor costs and streamline operations. As individuals, too, we almost always seek efficiency and convenience when we decide which software application or computing device to use. We pick the program or gadget that lightens our load and frees up our time, not the one that makes us work harder and longer. Technology companies naturally cater to such desires when they design their wares. They compete fiercely to offer the product that requires the least effort and thought to use.
Learning requires inefficiency at the short term, and sometimes, there is not much of a rational incentive for businesses to invest in learning for their employees at the cost of short-term inefficiency. Such a perspective might be a tad short-sighted, but most businesses do tend to focus on the short-term over long-term.
Even from a personal career perspective, learning might be counter-productive to our own career goals in some instances. Wanting to round up your skill set (i.e. working in another department) might compel you to take a lateral career move (or even backwards) financially. We might convince ourselves it is better for the long-term, but any short-term loss in earnings weighs heavily on our minds and creates a huge inertia for change.
