Have you noticed your job applications getting ignored—even when you're asking for less money? You might be in The Squeeze.

In this episode, I share a concept I’ve observed for years but only recently named: The Squeeze. It’s a silent career crisis where your value appears to shrink in the market, even though your experience is growing. It’s not just about money—it chips away at your confidence, identity, and joy at work.

You’ll hear:

• The three types of professionals most at risk
• The tell-tale signs you're being squeezed
• Why bland messaging and generic job titles are costing you interviews
• How Rory, Kieran, and Jolene turned things around (real client stories)
• Three powerful ways to avoid—or recover from—The Squeeze

If you’re feeling overlooked, underpaid, or unsure how to position your value in your 40s, 50s, or 60s—this episode is for you.

🎁 Mentioned in This Episode

• Download the Superpower Starter Kit
• The Fierce Accelerator Programme
• The Fierce Emporium
• Jolene’s Story
• How to Stay Highly Paid in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s

🛠️ Curious what joy might look like for you?

Download the Superpower Starter Kit to begin identifying what makes you truly brilliant—and how to talk about it so people get it.

Have you ever been offered a promotion right when you were thinking about leaving your job? That’s exactly the situation this week’s listener finds themselves in.

In this episode of Joy at Work, I share a powerful real-life story of what happened when someone said yes to a role that didn’t align with their superpowers. I also walk you through four essential clarity questions to ask before accepting a promotion that could lock you in for years.

If you’re at a career crossroads or simply wondering if your next move fits who you are now, this episode is for you.

Want to design a work life that energises you instead of drains you? Learn more about The Fierce Emporium: 👉 https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/the-fierce-emporium

Mentioned in This Episode:

• X Change book: https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/book
• Superpower Starter Kit (free download): https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/17

When your new boss is 20 years younger than you (and possibly owns trainers your teenager wants), the emotional whiplash is real.

In this episode, I respond to a listener who's just landed under the leadership of someone they could have taught to drive. I share seven very practical, very real strategies for navigating this shift—without bitterness, without sarcasm, and with all the self-possession you've built up over decades.

This isn't about sucking up or staying silent. It's about dignity, relevance, and choosing to lead in a new way. Whether you're simmering with frustration or simply unsure how to proceed, this one's for you.

You’re not too old, and it’s not too late.

Join the Midlife Unstuck Community → https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/3

• 7 Dignified Strategies for Working with a Baby Boss
• Case Study Series on Midlife Career Redesign

This week I’m joined by Caroline Clark, a leadership coach, performance psychologist, and analogue space astronaut. Caroline recently spent five days locked inside a simulated space mission in Poland—with no windows, no phones, and no escape. What she discovered is that humour isn’t just “nice to have” in high-pressure environments—it’s a survival tool.

Together, we explore how laughter connects us, regulates stress, and creates resilience at work. Caroline shares why humour builds trust, strengthens teams, and even makes leaders more effective. We also talk about what makes humour appropriate (and what doesn’t), and how to bring more playfulness into our everyday working lives without losing professionalism.

If work has started to feel heavy, this episode is your reminder that joy, play, and humour aren’t distractions—they’re powerful ways to thrive.

👉 Curious where joy is showing up in your own life? Take my Derailed Life Satisfaction Assessment—a 30-minute guided programme that helps you explore what’s bringing you joy and what’s bringing you down: https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/derailed

Connect with Caroline Clark:

• Website: carolineclark.coach

• Substack: Liftoff with Caroline

• LinkedIn: Caroline Clark

Have you ever looked at your CV and thought, “This is a total mess”?

You’re not alone—and you’re not wrong. But that doesn’t mean your career isn’t valuable.

In this short and powerful episode, I unpack why non-linear career stories can actually be your superpower, especially during interviews.

Whether you’ve made instinct-led choices, followed opportunities based on relationships, or simply changed direction a few times—you’ve got a story to tell.

And it’s not about explaining every twist and turn.

It’s about highlighting the single thread that shows who you are, what you bring, and why you’re a fit for that role.

If your CV feels messy, this one’s for you.

👉 Curious what joy might look like for you?

Join the Midlife Unstuck community here: https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/3

Have you ever realised you’re holding your breath while answering emails? I hadn’t—until I did. This episode of Joy At Work dives into a phenomenon called email apnea, and trust me, once you notice it, you won’t stop noticing.

I’ll share how a former Microsoft exec stumbled on this strange breathing pattern, why it matters to our energy, focus, and joy, and what I’ve been experimenting with to breathe better—even while emailing.

You’ll hear:

• The origin story of email apnea
• What dancers and test pilots know about breath that we don’t
• Six small, weird (but wonderful) experiments to reset your breathing
• How movement, breathing apps, and even watching a dog can help!

This one’s short but mighty. If your workday feels heavier than it should, this may be why.

🎧 Prefer video? Watch all my Joy at Work Experiments on YouTube:

🔗 Watch the Experiments on YouTube

🔍 Explore more episodes on joyful movement & breathing:

• Pain-Free Work with Rune Abo
• Movement is Medicine with Jon Field
• Lawrence van Lingen on YouTube

🌬️ Curious to experiment more?

👉 Check out all the Joy At Work Experiments

Ever felt the urge to just stop? To hit pause on work, travel a bit, try something new—or just breathe?

In this episode, I answer a question I hear often: "If I take a sabbatical, will I ruin my career?"

If you’re in midlife and considering stepping off the treadmill—even briefly—you’re not alone. I share stories of people who’ve done it (including me), talk about why the old model of work is crumbling, and offer a perspective that might help you rethink what a meaningful, joyful work life can look like.

We explore:

• Why sabbaticals are no longer career suicide
• How midlife reinventions are reshaping what "career success" even means
• What actually makes a work life feel worth returning to

And I’ll introduce you to the kind of rethinking we do inside my Fierce Emporium programme—where the first thing we redesign is your idea of work itself.

🎯 Learn more about Fierce Emporium:

👉 https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/the-fierce-emporium

• 📘 X Change – Lucia's Book
• 🎧 Returning to Uni in Midlife

When a listener wrote in about leaving their job to return to uni for a post-grad, I had flashbacks to my own midlife university adventure — and all the mistakes I made.

In this episode, I share why I rarely recommend a full-blown post-grad as the first step in a career redesign, plus the three red-flag scenarios where it’s usually the wrong move. I also tell the very real (and slightly messy) story of my own year back at university, balancing motherhood, academia, and a dwindling supply of energy.

You’ll hear the rare situations where post-grad study does work beautifully, the key questions to ask before you enrol, and some low-risk ways to test your interest without draining your savings or sanity.

If you’re considering going back to uni, this one’s for you.

👉 Join the Fierce Emporium and work through my exact clarity process before you invest your time, money, and self-worth in a huge leap. Explore The Fierce Emporium.