Abstract
Encountering American mahjong for the first time, confronted by tiles marked with bamboo, circles, winds, and dragons, reintroduced me to the cognitive disorientation inherent to a novice status. The game's specialized vocabulary (e.g., Charleston, cracks, bams, pungs, kongs, quints) and rule structure required simultaneous engagement of multiple cognitive systems: working memory to monitor discarded tiles, pattern recognition to detect promising sets, executive function to formulate strategy, and processing speed to act under time constraints.
My initial struggles with these demands felt analogous to those experienced by employees who take on new positions, adopt emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, or adapt to organizational restructuring. The frustration of early performance, the inevitability of errors, and the incremental accrual of competence characterize occupational adaptation across contexts; whether the task is mastering clinical procedures, learning new software, or navigating altered workflows. What made my mahjong learning possible was not only cognitive effort; it was the social scaffolding provided by more experienced players. They modeled strategies, offered just-in-time guidance, and created a psychologically safe space for failure and experimentation. This mirrors what we know about effective workplace learning - that it happens most effectively within communities of practice where novices are apprenticed into expertise through guided participation 1 . This parallels workplace mentoring. Like my mahjong teacher, effective workplace mentors do not simply transfer information. These individuals provide scaffolded experiences that allow learners to operate at their current capabilities while preventing overwhelming failure. They normalize struggle. They celebrate incremental progress. They help learners develop not just technical skills but the confidence and identity of a competent worker.
After months of play, something shifted - mahjong went from an exhausting cognitive workout to an enjoyable experience. This personal transition led me to achieve what Csikszentmihalyi termed flow, the optimal state where challenge and skill are balanced, action and awareness merge, and the occupation becomes intrinsically rewarding 2 . This connection is especially interesting because my doctoral research investigated flow: The Nature and Quality of the Optimal Flow Experience, A Form of Job Satisfaction Among a Selected Occupation: The Case of the Occupational Therapy Practitioner 3 . In essence, the shift from learning to performance characterizes occupational mastery. When workers achieve this state, they experience both greater efficiency and greater satisfaction; the work becomes not merely something we do, but part of who we are.
What implications does this American mahjong experience hold for supporting workers amid continual change? Four practical lessons emerge:
Productive struggle may be a necessary component of substantive learning. Organizational efforts to eliminate all discomfort from training may unintentionally inhibit deep engagement and durable skill acquisition. Instead, organizations should calibrate a challenge and ensure appropriate supports so that learners confront meaningful difficulty without being overwhelmed. Social structures for learning are foundational. Peer learning, mentorship, and communities of practice foster competence more effectively than isolated, purely formal training modalities. Learning is inherently situational and social. Affective dimensions of work merit intentional design. Jobs that enable experiences of flow can enhance both performance and well-being; therefore, job design should consider opportunities for meaningful engagement in addition to efficiency metrics. Like learning American mahjong, skill development requires time, practice and patience.
American mahjong can serve as a conceptual microcosm of occupational performance: it demands attention, adaptation, strategy, and offers moments of satisfaction and, occasionally, joy. In contemporary workplaces that continually require learning and adaptation, treating work as a space for iterative experimentation, social connection, and gradual mastery may better support sustained performance and worker retention.
The Editor’s Choice paper for this issue is, “Finding the way” - a qualitative study of work participation among older construction workers authored by Kirsten Schultz Petersen, Claus D Hansen, Kirsten Fonager, and Henrik Bøggild. I am delighted to also share that the Editor’s Choice paper from the January 2026 issue of WORK titled, Comparison of usability and ergonomic risks of using a laptop and tablet computers for online learning: a field experimental study is discussed by its author, Dr. Totsapon Butmee in the January 2026 episode of our Learn at WORK podcast. The Learn at WORK podcasts are available at: https://journals-sagepub-com-s.web.bisu.edu.cn/page/wor/podcasts/index
WORK has always strived to support gender equality in its publication and with the members on its Editorial Board. We celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 and Women's History Month in March. I encourage readers to learn more about Give to Gain (https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme) and to sign up as I have done.
As always, I welcome your feedback.
With kind regards,
Karen
Founding Editor,
Occupational therapist & ergonomist
kjacobs@bu.edu
https://profiles.bu.edu/Karen.Jacobs
http://blogs.bu.edu/kjacobs/
linkedin.com/in/karenjacobsot
Footnotes
Disclosure Statement
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models were used in the preparation of this paper to enhance content development, accuracy and grammar. All AI-generated content was reviewed, verified, and revised by the author to ensure accuracy and appropriateness.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.