How to find happiness at work and in your long-term career

A lot of my self validation comes from work. It always has. I wonder if that’s because of the original career I chose, journalism. Journalism is a big ‘happiness’ kind of career. There are big moments of joy and wonder, as you see your name and even your face in print, your words in newspapers, magazines and online.

It was always quite a happy existence, too, being a journalist in the 2000s. So much fun, partying and travel. I always thought it would make me happy forever. But then, as you know, I pivoted.

I pivoted to coaching, because I wasn’t happy as a journalist anymore. I wanted something different, something new. I searched for a new happy. I call myself The Career Happiness Coach - so I’ve made it a strong focus of my niche!

I look to work and my work life for a lot of fulfilment, and often get quite down or upset when work isn’t meeting my happiness needs. Finding happiness at work is not linear, that’s for sure. It sounds contradictory, but the biggest thing I’ve learned is not to look to work to tick that ‘happy’ button, but I always have and, I think, always will, to some extent. So we need some balance, right? (Top tip: Get dogs. Ultimate happiness!)

Can freelancing make you happier at work?

When I was single and wrote a lot about my love life, work was an escape both mentally and physically. An escape from living alone and the challenges that brought, and an escape from my own thoughts as I shared all about my love life in my writing and a dating column. But I wasn’t always happy. I chased the next byline ‘hit’ and, when redundancy came (more on that in a future Substack, as the anniversary is coming up), I was devastated.

I sought happiness in freelancing over and over (and still find it there). And I found a new wave of happiness through being coached and coaching.

I think I put a lot of store in work to provide me with the happiness feelings partly because I’m childfree by choice. I don’t have the commitment of my own family to be a hard stop on work, or divert me from work planning.

I also think that the jobs I’ve chosen seem to align themselves with being ‘on’ all the time. Being happy at work is a big thing for me because I am at work most of the time (in my head, at least!).

Career happiness is about joy and confidence…

Career happiness is often intertwined with confidence. I’ve written about coming out of a confidence low in your career in a piece for my website blog. It’s harder than ever to feel confident in our abilities at work when there is so much noise around us - either real life noise, or social media noise.

Happiness at work for me has often felt like a big goal in itself - seeing the next step as the ‘happiness destination’. When I take this next job, I’ll be truly happy. If I worked for THAT brand I’d be so happy at work! I know if I got a commission from THAT publication I’d be so overjoyed! When I’ve run a workshop on THIS topic, I’ll be the happiest coach!

And of course the joy moments do come in the big things - the promotions, the yes from a recruiter or person we’ve interviewed with. The go-ahead from someone on a project or that email or call from a potential client who says ‘I’d love some coaching!’.

But it also comes in the smaller things. The likes on a post, the freelance work chums in a WhatsApp who sent supportive replies. The happiness of someone messaging to say thank you, that workshop was great and I enjoyed it. The happiness of being approached for work by potential clients. And yes, for all its challenges, the happiness of running a Facebook group for women in the media.

Chasing happiness can be a thankless and exhausting task, and my biggest piece of advice is to take a moment on this World Happiness Day, to look at what’s going right. To reflect on what is giving you happiness right now, rather than always looking to the next thing for that fulfilment.

You could even write down five things that make you happy about your work and your career. What’s bringing joy already? Then you can begin to focus more intentionally on what’s missing and what you want to ‘chase’.

Read more about my mission to help everyone get happier in their career!