Facilitating Unlearning: The Paradoxical Roles of Developmental Job Experience and Psychological Safety in Early‐Career Employees

ABSTRACT Building on transformative learning theory, this study develops and tests a moderated mediation model to explain how developmental job experience fosters unlearning among early‐career employees, while also illuminating the paradoxical role of psychological safety. Using two‐wave survey data from 1382 young Japanese employees, hierarchical regression and moderated mediation analyses revealed that developmental job experiences directly and indirectly promote unlearning through the mediating effect of critical reflection. Paradoxically, while higher psychological safety encourages employees to undertake challenging tasks, which strengthens the positive influence of developmental job experience, it also weakens the link between developmental job experience and critical reflection by reducing the tension necessary for in‐depth self‐examination. These findings advance the literature on unlearning by elucidating the complex interplay between individual developmental experiences and the dynamics of organizational culture. From a practical perspective, human resource development professionals should strategically balance psychological safety and constructive tension to optimize adaptive learning and agility among younger employees.