I’m your host, Lucia Knight, founder of Midlife Unstuck, a career design consultancy dedicated to helping professionals create less stressful and more joyful careers in the second half of their lives.

The Joy at Work Summit is happening from July 8th to 11th, and you don’t want to miss it!

Head over to the Joy at Work Summit page to subscribe for free and check out our amazing lineup of speakers.

Hints to get the most from the four day summit

I’d love to share some tips on how to get the most out of this free online summit, delivered by private podcast, with 25 speakers giving ten minute jolts of their wisdom to increase your joy at work.

My dream for you is to take just one idea from one of the talks that deeply connects with you - and experiment with it in your next working day. The goal is to increase your joy at work by 10% in one day.

If that works, try another idea from another talk.

Who knows where it could lead? But it’s definitely in the direction of more joy at work!

It’s unlikely you’ll be attracted to all 23 speakers, even though each talk is only ten minutes max in length.

To make it easier, I’ve divided the speakers into four focus areas that contribute to joy at work.

Choose the subjects that resonate with you, whether they address your current challenges or future opportunities you feel drawn to.

Then, HIT PLAY and tune in to those sessions - over lunch, on your commute or doing exercise.

Each day, the Joy at Work team will release talks related to these four areas.

Once you’ve registered and subscribed to the Joy at Work Summit podcast, you’ll be invited to subscribe wherever you prefer to listen to podcasts.

Here’s a speed walk-through of each day of the Summit

Day 1: Different Modes of Work

Every day, I work with mid-career professionals who have a dream to change career “sometime in the future”. While we’re figuring out the bigger, longer-term work dreams, we always begin to immediately focus on ways to improve their current work situation.

And sometimes, that’s all that needs to happen!

Sometimes, smaller changes in the way they do their current work frees up space to bring more joy to their work-life and real-life!

In day one of the Joy at Work Summit, I introduce you to a group of people who can challenge the way you think about your current work.

Joe O'Connor from Work Time Reduction and Claire Campbell from Timewise discuss how to make shorter work weeks effective for both organizations and individuals.

Em Stroud, the Comic Coach, demonstrates how playfulness at work reduces stress and boosts energy.

Paul Reid from Trickle introduces the idea of GROSS—Get Rid Of the Stupid Stuff—a micro-improvement concept from Singapore.

Steve Borer shares his 4 year journey of turning his J.O.B. into a high-growth business mid-career - with humorous anecdotes.

Ingun Bol from the Wize Move Society provides must-dos and must-don’ts for starting your first business at mid-career.

Sam Balter, host of the Weird Work podcast, challenges you to dream bigger to increase your work joy by 100%.

I’ll round off the day with my personally researched formula for a lifetime of joy at work.

Day 2: Finding the Right Next Role

Finding the right role is crucial for joy at work.

Nicola Wensley and Sophie Edward discuss how to build enduring relationships with executive search firms and use personality profiling to find the right fit.

Dom Salomon gives insights from his diary of a mid-career job hunter and shares recommendations based on his experience.

Robert Atkinson offers advice for executives and partners looking to transition into corporate life, non-exec directorships, or portfolio careers.

John O'Connor emphasizes the importance of creating relationships with executive search firms before you need a new role.

I’ll also show you a technique to ensure you are paid well for the rest of your career.

Day 3: Health at Work

Over the last eight years, I’ve guided mid-career professionals through work redesign processes and have seen that success in health often takes a back seat to work success. Health is the cornerstone of joy at work.

Sleep scientist Dr. Kat Ledele shares proven methods to improve sleep quality. Her insights immediately changed my perspective on sleep.

Norwegian fitness sensation Rude Abo demonstrates specific movements to relieve the pain of sitting through endless daily meetings.

Psychotherapist Dominic Decker offers three clear questions to help think through complex career decisions.

Nutritional therapist Dana Chapman cuts through the noise to offer three experiments you can try this week to fuel your joy at work.

I’ll also share a short walk-through of the 12 stages of burnout and how to recognize them in your loved ones.

Day 4: Wider influencers of Joy

In the final day of the Joy at Work Summit, we come at the idea of joy from so many different angles. and some Consider the wider influencers of joy.

Ges Ray shares a tiny, ultra-specific skill to transform your public speaking impact.

Vicki Knights inspires you to become more comfortable with visibility and shows you the surprising benefits of showing up - for yourself.

Dustin Serviss discusses balancing financial wealth with life memories.

Louise Brogan offers practical tips on how to appear human on LinkedIn and reduce dullness in your profile.

Dara Ford shares how dressing for joy at work can boost your confidence.

Richard Hagen and Sarah Scott provide ideas to help you take steps toward writing a book or starting a podcast.

Summit Close & Takeaways

I’ll close the summit with my key takeaways to provide you with list of actionable, tangible ideas that you can takeaway and implement to bring you 10% or 100% more joy at work.

And Caroline Chapple, artist and graphic illustrator will share her takeaways visually. You’ll get access to her summaries of each day via email.

Final Recommendations - the way forward

• Remember to check the show notes for any special downloads or links to further content from the speakers. You’ll find these wherever you’ve listened to the talks (Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, Amazon Music etc)

• To take your joy at work to the next level, connect with the speakers on LinkedIn (or wherever you and they hang out). Mention that you heard them speak at the Joy at Work Summit 2024 and make their day!

Each speaker has donated their wisdom and time for free. Because they believe in the cause - increasing joy at work for all listeners.

Mention that you heard them speak at the Joy at Work Summit 2024 and make their day!

One of the central points in designing more joy at work is spreading joy in the form of kindness. Each time we give specific positive feedback to anyone at work, we receive a mini-jolt of joy ourselves. What’s not to love about that?