Season 4 of Joy at Work is here. Lucia Knight returns with a reminder that you don’t have to wait until work gets really bad before you start making changes. She shares what you can explore across more than 120 Joy at Work conversations, from the messy ways life can affect work to real stories of career change and alternative ways of working, plus a glimpse at what’s coming this season.

Since you last heard from me, I’ve become bionic.

I got a new hip at 53 and, honestly, I wish I’d done it sooner.

That feeling captures something I believe about work, too. We don’t always have to wait until things get really bad before we make a change. Small changes can be easier and lighter when we make them sooner.

That philosophy has always been at the heart of Joy at Work: helping you understand what you want and need from work, explore what else might be possible and design work that fits you better.

And there are now more than 120 conversations here to help you do it.

When Life Makes Work Harder

Sometimes work becomes harder because life has become harder.

We’ve talked about ageism in job searching, divorce, aging parents, grief, insomnia, imposter syndrome, health anxiety and the emotional impact of redundancy.

If any of that sounds familiar, you might start with:

Because the rest of your life doesn't disappear when the working day begins.

Proof That Change Is Possible

I also love talking to former clients about what happened when they deliberately started designing their work lives differently.

These aren't Cinderella career-change stories. They're real people who have made changes and discovered things about themselves along the way.

In my Tiny Conversations, I ask them for the three things they never want to forget.

You can hear from:

If you've ever wondered whether more joy at work is possible for someone like you, their stories are a lovely place to explore.

There Are Other Ways to Work

We also spend plenty of time challenging the assumption that we need to work the way our parents did until we eventually retire.

That has included conversations about taking a midlife sabbatical, going back to university, deep work, choosing the right volunteer opportunities and one of my personal favourites, Misery Loves Company.

Not because you should do any of those things.

But because seeing different possibilities can help you start thinking differently about your own.

And There’s Plenty More to Come

Season 4 will keep exploring what happens when work, life and midlife collide.

We’ll be talking about identity and friendship after leaving corporate life, the psychology of money and work-life changes, what sitting at a desk all day is doing to our bodies, the impact of divorce on work performance and more of the question I get asked perhaps more than any other:

What do I do if I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up?

There will also be more Tiny Conversations with people who have deliberately designed work that suits them better.

Where Should You Start?

You could dive into any of the conversations above.

But if you're wondering where you could make a change, take the Joy at Work Quiz.

Your answers will give you your Joy at Work potential score and help you identify your easiest place to make some tweaks, along with your biggest potential blind spot.

You don't have to figure out your entire working future today.

Start by understanding where you are now — and where a small change might make work fit a little better.

Welcome Back
Host: Lucia Knight: Since I was last in your ear holes, I've become bionic. I've got a new hip, age 53, and honestly, I wish I'd done it sooner.
Host: Lucia Knight: And that's the philosophy that's sewn into this podcast. I'm here to encourage you to make little changes at work before things get too bad, because change is easier and lighter the sooner we do it.

[00:00:32] Welcome Back: Why Small Changes Matter
Host: Lucia Knight: Hello, and welcome back to season four of The Joy at Work podcast. I'm Lucia Knight, and you are in the right place if you want to design work you enjoy so much that you want to do it forever.
Host: Lucia Knight: Since I was last in your ear holes, I've become bionic. I've got a new hip, age 53, and honestly, I wish I'd done it sooner.
Host: Lucia Knight: And that's the philosophy that's sewn into this podcast. I'm here to encourage you to make little changes at work before things get too bad, because change is easier and lighter the sooner we do it. Let's dive in to what's ahead for season four.
[00:01:21] 120+ Conversations About Finding More Joy at Work
Host: Lucia Knight: Before I tell you what's coming, I want you to know what's already there. There are 120-ish episodes waiting for you, and broadly they fit into three buckets. Bucket one, the stuff that no one else says aloud: ageism in job searching, how not to become office gossip after you announce your divorce, aging parents, grief, body parts seizing up, insomnia, imposter syndrome, health anxiety, and the emotional anatomy of a redundancy.
Host: Lucia Knight: If work has ever felt hard because life got hard, that's the bucket for you.
Host: Lucia Knight: Bucket two, proof it's possible. Not Cinderella career change stories. I cannot stand those. Real conversations with former clients sharing the three things they never want to forget. Scott, Jill, Laura, Lester, and dozens more. If you've ever doubted whether joy at work is possible for someone like you, start there.
Host: Lucia Knight: Bucket three, alternative ways of working, because working like our parents worked until we retire is not how we're gonna do work. Episodes on building a fierce freedom fund, taking a midlife sabbatical, going back to uni, working four days a week, getting paid five, deep work, choosing the right volunteer opportunities, and one of my favorites in this bucket is called Misery Loves Company.
Host: Lucia Knight: Go and steal that idea. 120 episodes free. Go grab them
[00:03:11] What’s Coming in Season 4
Host: Lucia Knight: Now, what's coming this season? Identity and friendship loss after you leave corporate life. The if I'm not that, what am I? Scary ego shift. We kick off next time with the psychology of money and work-life changes with Barney Witter, otherwise known as The Escape Artist. Our conversation was so good, we recorded two episodes for you.
Host: Lucia Knight: What else? How not to wreck your body when your job has you chained to a desk. The work performance dip that happens when you're divorcing. No one talks about that enough. In this season, we do.
Host: Lucia Knight: And we've got more episodes on the question I get asked more than any other: What do I do if I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up?
Host: Lucia Knight: There are several episodes on that one.
Host: Lucia Knight: And back by popular demand, more tiny conversations with former clients.
Host: Lucia Knight: I didn't expect this segment to land the way it has. It turns out you love hearing the three things those who have deliberately designed their work lives to suit them better never want to forget. Honestly, so do I. Oh, if you watch on YouTube, you'll see me grinning like an eager puppy the whole way through those episodes.
Host: Lucia Knight: Actually, maybe just listen along to those ones. And I'm still taking your questions. There will be a link in the show notes. Send me a question that you've been pondering for a while, and I'll answer it in an episode
[00:04:58] Find Your Starting Point
Host: Lucia Knight: Tune into any of these episodes, and when you're ready for more, the best place to start is to take the Joy at Work quiz. When you answer my questions, you'll receive your Joy at Work potential score. It shows you your easiest place to make some tweaks to bring you more joy at work and your biggest blind spot.
Host: Lucia Knight: When you know those two things, you can get started designing work you might do forever.

Designing Work You Could Do Forever

When Life Makes Work Harder

Proof That Change Is Possible

There Are Other Ways to Work

And There’s Plenty More to Come

Where Should You Start?

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