Maybe you can convince your manager to tackle this more rationally and let people purposely learn because they do it anyway: They experiment, over-engineer, try

Maybe you can convince your manager to tackle this more rationally and let people purposely learn because they do it anyway: They experiment, over-engineer, try the latest hype with their actual moneymaker products, making the work day less dull, upholding self-esteem and preserving skills (market value). It's not professional but people are not robots.