Jan, after having switched jobs:
After building ‘just websites’ for 5 years it amazes me how many other tools exist to create the most awesome things while being efficient … and I’m having the time of my life learning all these new things!
It feels like I’ve broken out of a routine I was stuck in for a long time. I was just building things, but not building cool and innovative things. Everything moves so fast that if you don’t keep up, that is were you will end up.
And you don’t want to end up in a position where you have reached zero motivation because you’re doing the same thing over and over again. You have the right to ask for time to spend on research and learning new things.
In the web business it is of utmost importance to be on top of things, which is why I attend that many conferences/meetups and am active as a freelancer next to my job as a lecturer. If your boss denies you research/experimenting time, you should switch jobs. Really.