Build Career Happiness

Learn the skills to build career happiness – now and in the future

Work can be challenging, but it can also be joyful and deeply satisfying—often, it is a mix of both. What we want to avoid, however, is feeling consistently unhappy or miserable.

It is possible to implement thoughtful, practical strategies to help build greater career satisfaction. In other words, we can have some influence over how we experience and engage with our work.

Developing this sense of career happiness begins with getting to know ourselves more deeply. Sometimes people leave a job because they are unhappy, only to find they respond in similar, habitual ways in a new role—an outcome we want to avoid.

Are you:

Feeling dissatisfied in a current role?
Questioning whether this is the right career path?
Thinking about leaving, but unsure what else is out there—especially in a tight job market?
Mostly enjoying work, but ready for more challenge and growth?

If so, I’d love to support you to build career happiness.

Conversation (course) structure:

Weekly sessions over 6 weeks (1–2 hours each)
Preference for face-to-face
Reflective, shared discussions
Focus on individual needs and unique situations
A safe and confidential environment
Practical ideas supported by interactive activities
Reusable worksheets and exercises for ongoing use
Real-world reflection informed by relevant research (including my own)

What you will learn:

Explore and reframe work-related challenges
Identify and shift how you relate to work as an ‘identity’ or ‘personality‘
Recognise and learn from challenging emotions and thoughts
Shape your role to better align with your strengths, interests and passions
Leverage strengths to navigate fears and uncertainty
Set effective boundaries to reduce stress and align with personal values
Communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships
Plan for sustained career satisfaction

This course encourages participants to pause and reflect on current work challenges, and to implement practical strategies that support greater enjoyment and wellbeing at work. You will leave with tools to continue this process over time, as your work and life circumstances evolve.

(Note: this course can also be run for a group).

About the facilitator – research expert in work happiness

Dr Kathryn Owler has a lifelong interest in job satisfaction and wellbeing. She has researched and published extensively in this area, including several academic journal articles, and has written for newspapers and magazines. She is also the author of Fun at Work: A Journey of Acceptance, Joy and True Meaning.

Kathryn is passionate about supporting people to build a positive and meaningful relationship with their work. Her seminars and courses draw on her own research, as well as job crafting theory, positive psychology, solution-focused approaches, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotional Culture Deck (ECD), and communication theory (for a start) —all presented in an accessible and practical way.

Kathryn holds an MA in Sociology from the University of Auckland and a PhD in Sociology from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She has worked across social practice, teaching and training, coaching, and research roles in business, education, and the not-for-profit sector. She is also a founding director of Joyworkz Ltd.

Outside of work, Kathryn enjoys walking her dog and keeping active, gardening, drawing (particularly pets of family and friends), learning to sing, and studying te reo Māori.

(See Kathryn’s LinkedIn profile for a sample of her research publications on workplace wellbeing).

What’s next?

Feel free to get in touch with Kathryn to find out more about the course and costs. There’s no obligation—she always loves to hear about your work challenges and successes, and may suggest other options, either through her or others, to best meet your or your organisation’s needs.

Contact Kathryn for more information…

Client feedback

“It’s been hugely beneficial to work with Kathryn and to take an hour each week to think about the mindset with which I approach my work, to generate out of the box ideas about working differently, and to reflect on the ways I work with others. I’ve completed the … programme with new tools to work with, and a greater depth of thinking about how I approach the future.” Adrian Field, Company Director, Social Research Field

“I am very grateful to Kathryn who came into my life at the right time … I made a decision to actively create a new job that I would love by redesigning my role within my organisation. I was also challenged to work towards a better version of myself as a colleague and as a person.” Catherine Chong, Research Project Manager, Engineering Industry

“I found Kathryn had effectively researched and consolidated functional solutions for dealing with any number of issues & frictions that typically occur in a workplace… I felt a real shift in my perspective.” Michelle Lowe, Business Analyst, Media Industry

“Every session was like a PAUSE for me … Thank you Dr Kathryn Owler for … combining the essence of your research, with practical advice through an interactive learning method. Thank you more importantly, for sharing the passion you have to help people with feeling happier!” Shabnam J, Researcher

“After I signed up, I had a bit of buyer’s remorse as I wondered if I’d enjoy it. However, I needn’t have worried as I did really enjoy the [coaching] … and gained some powerful insights into myself.” Kathy F, Consulting Midwife

“When I first heard Kathryn talk about her book ‘Fun at Work’ I actually felt sad, because I realised that I wasn’t having much fun at my work anymore … A few years later I did Kathryn’s course … and found value in learning how to get unstuck, and move forward positively, especially with communication including becoming aware of my emotions and learning about my boundaries – communication is vital to get right!” Fay S, Play Therapist

“As a practical person, I loved going through this [course] … as it gave me practical skills to reignite my joy in my role and look for ways to make it work with my values … It has definitely refocused me and made me view my workday very differently for the better.” Rachelle B, Record Manager, Legal Firm

More Client feedback….

Benefits of course include:

For Individuals:

feel more alive and engaged
grow in your role or organisation
increase your wellbeing
maintain a sense of purpose
re-find lost passion
identify new areas of growth
reflect on current and future direction

For Organisations:

retain talented staff
build a positive team culture
encourage staff accountability
invest in a practical alternative to EAP
Note: comparable to EAP costings.