At the cutting edge: Thriving not just surviving - fulfilment across the whole lifespan based on latest research and insights

Philosophers have long asserted that fulfilment is something more than happiness or satisfaction and now vocational psychologists seem to agree. Whilst the empirical research into fulfilment (work and life) is still relatively new, there are fascinating and important insights emerging for individuals and the practitioners who work with them.

Several theorists assert that fulfilment is an ‘important and worthwhile aspiration for most people’, but there is also evidence that sustaining fulfilment may not be easy or equally available to all. What factors make the biggest difference? Does fulfilment shift through the lifespan? What tools and frameworks can you use to help yourself and others become more fulfilled?

In this session, we will share the very latest insights from doctoral research into fulfilment, work fulfilment and fulfilment through the lifespan. Specifically:

· What fulfilment means – generally and through the lifespan

· Why it matters to individuals, teams and organizations

· Factors that predict the possibility of fulfilment

· What can make work a fulfilling experience – six key themes

· How fulfilment evolves beyond midlife (an area often underrepresented in career and lifespan research)

Practical implications will be discussed, including how practitioners can better support individuals navigating identity, purpose, and thriving across longer working lives.

Denises session introduces a later-life perspective on fulfilment, focusing on the 60–80 age range, an area often underrepresented in career and lifespan research. Drawing on doctoral research and the ThriveSpan framework, Dr Denise Taylor will explore how fulfilment evolves beyond midlife, particularly after full-time work becomes optional or ends. Rather than viewing later life purely through the lens of productivity or decline, the session will examine themes of meaning, curiosity, wellbeing, contribution, and psychological adjustment during this extended life stage. Practical implications will be discussed, including how practitioners can better support individuals navigating identity, purpose, and thriving across longer working lives and into older adulthood.

Speaker Bios:

Gilly Freedman NICEC Fellow
Gillian is a Professional Executive Accredited Coach with the Association for Coaching and a qualified Career Coach with an M.SC in Psychology from the University of Derby.

She is also a qualified Career Coach Supervisor with Bath University and Joint-Lead tutor on CCS’s Accredited Career Coach Training. She specialises in work with Doctors with a contract with the NHS and she also offers career coaching and coaching to a wide range of other clients. She is particularly interested in helping clients to tackle issues of confidence and help them identify and play to their strengths, interests and values.

As well as working with individuals, Gillian runs many career coaching development programmes and workshops including the well-established CCS Core skills training Her earlier career involved teaching abroad with the British Council and then taking several Training Manager roles with City firms before becoming an independent consultant.

Laura Walker 

Laura Walker is a recognised expert in careers and learning and development, bridging academic research and business practice. Passionate about evidence, she loves translating the latest research into accessible insights for practitioners via webinars, guest lecturing, or written content.

She was awarded the inaugural Bill Law award by NICEC for her work into career reinvention, is conducting PhD research into ‘The psychology of work fulfilment’ and regularly writes psychology-based articles. Her best-selling book 'Dancing with fear and confidence: How to liberate yourself and your career in mid-life' was published in November 2020.

A practitioner at heart, Laura held Director-level positions for respected businesses across six different sectors including Retail (John Lewis Partnership), Pharmaceuticals (GSK), Insurance (Aviva), Oil and Gas (Centrica), Defence (BAE Systems) and Luxury Goods (Burberry). She now runs her own business - blending consulting, researching, and career coaching.

She is also a very amateur photographer, an enthusiastic (rather than talented) choir member, and a reluctant houser renovator. She only manages to stay human if she does something active every day.

Dr. Denise Taylor

Dr Denise Taylor is a Chartered Psychologist, author, and later-life commentator whose work focuses on fulfilment, identity, and meaning in the 60–80 age range and beyond. She holds a Professional Doctorate exploring meaning after full-time work, an MBA, and has over 25 years’ experience in career development and lifespan transitions.

She is the creator of the ThriveSpan framework and author of the forthcoming book ThriveSpan: Walking Gently Into What Matters Now, which charts a more conscious path through later life, where wellbeing, purpose, and reflection meet. Her work moves beyond traditional retirement and productivity narratives to examine Olderhood as a distinct life stage shaped by psychological adjustment, curiosity, contribution, and evolving identity.

Dr Taylor is also the author of Rethinking Retirement for Positive Ageing and writes regularly on ageing and longer lives, including for the i paper, alongside wider media contributions. She speaks on fulfilment, longer working lives, and the psychological transition into older adulthood.