Finding time to read on a daily basis is impossible for many. Work, social life, gym, house chores, etc., make most of us prioritize the things we think we have time for. However, the good news is that audiobooks make multitasking not only possible but also effective. For example, you can listen to a remote work audiobook while doing the dishes or taking your dog for a walk in the park.
While the pandemic started two years ago, working remotely is still challenging. Learning how to balance work with life to avoid burnout or how to manage remote teams is something we learn by doing (and failing). But, experts and leaders have synthesized their key lessons learned through decades of remote work experience in books and audiobooks!
Let’s check out the best audiobooks on remote work you need to listen to ASAP!
Best 11 Remote Work Audiobooks
1. Surviving Remote Work Audiobook Version by Sharon Koifman (Coming Soon!)
Surviving Remote Work is the best book on remote leadership you’ll find. For many, the book has become the ultimate guide to remote work as it covers nearly all the topics concerning remote leaders.
Sharon Koifman, the founder and President of DistantJob, a remote recruitment agency that powered ThinkRemote, shares his main lessons, experiences, strategies, and tips to lead successful remote teams.
What makes this book valuable is that Sharon shares his 20+ years of experience in a humorous and easy-to-understand manner. He provides real-life examples and solutions that help leaders and employees deal with distractions, burnout, and all the challenges remote work experience.
Main highlights of the book:
- Tips to build a company culture 100% remotely
- How to avoid being an asshole leader and get your employees to trust you
- Unique strategies to manage distractions
- Strategies to protect your business data in a fully distributed operation
- How to thrive working remotely and leading teams
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Reviews:
“This is an exceptional book among a category of remote work. The author goes deep into many aspects of work effectiveness at a workplace and remote. Sharon is mature in this field and opinions and does not stop at obvious reasons but analysis the topic from various perspectives. He also questions not only the disturbing external causes (e.g., the environment at a workplace) but also whether I am the disturbing factor. This pushes me to think more because my habits won’t change by changing the environment. Also, the discussion about current technology is up to date with the author’s experience and recommendations. Some topics go well beyond a standard book on remote work effectiveness, such as data protection or company culture. And the book isn’t aimed only at you but the whole remote team.” – Rosetta
“This book provides a lot of good information on working from home. Through using personal experience, Sharon gives great advice on some of the do’s and don’ts of working from home. Sharon offers a lot of tips around technologies that are helpful, how to focus on mental health and dealing with distractions, and how to ensure you are productive in working from home. He ultimately convinced me that working from home is the way to go and can be more productive and healthy than going into an office.”– James P.
“This is a great book. This book provides concrete techniques and tools that are valuable. It also provides real-world examples and it’s entertaining as well. Overall not only it’s Educational and Informative, but the information in the book is also Direct, and it has a great resource for creative professionals and business professionals. This is a must-read.”– Byron Tyler
The audiobook is out now! Get your free sample here
2. Remote Work Revolution by Tsedal Neeley
Tsedal Neeley is a Harvard Business School professor and leading remote work expert who shares the best practices leaders, and remote workers need to thrive in a remote work environment.
How to build trust virtually? How can employees feel connected to their teams despite being remote? How to lead remote teams? Remote Work Revolution has evidence-based answers to all these questions and the common challenges remote workers face.
Main highlights of the book:
- How to maintain connections virtually
- Tips for remote leaders to keep their teams motivated
- A guide on the best remote tools
- Insights on keeping employees productive
Amazon Rating: 4.4/5
Amazon Review:
“Working from home became something many people did during the pandemic, but it won’t end when the lockdown does. Do you work in a company where people work from home? Do you lead one? If you don’t – you will soon. And that means you need to read this book. Tsedal Neeley is Harvard Business School’s rising star, and she’s written the perfect book for the future of work – it tells you how to make working remotely work for you and your company, and how to create and lead teams that gel and succeed, even when they’re spread out across the world. This book will be an essential part of every businessperson’s toolkit for years to come.”– Gautam Mukunda
3. Work-from-Home-Hacks by Aja Frost
No one is born knowing how to work from home. However, experience and knowledge from those who have succeeded are exactly what we need to become productive and happy remote workers.
Often remote workers need to deal with burnout, stress, endless to-do lists, and many challenges that are difficult to deal with. The good news is that Work-from-Home-hacks contains 500+ easy ways to stay productive and establish the right work-life balance while working from home.
Main highlights of the book:
- How to create a designated workspace at home
- Learn more about the background noise that works for you
- Tricks to boost your productivity
- Simple ways to create a flexible routine
Amazon Rating: 4.3/5
Amazon Review:
“Like a lot of people, I’ve been working remotely since March and without realizing it had picked up some really bad habits. Aja Frost’s book provided some legitimately game-changing tips that I’ve been able to put into practice right away that have already made a big difference. The format of the book is really simple and easy to read. I honestly just keep it near the toilet and skim through whenever I’m in the john. I’d recommend it for anyone learning how to best adjust to remote working life.”– Michael Burnstein
4. HBR Guide to Remote Work by Harvard Business Review
HBR Guide to Remote Work focuses on answering this question: How to make remote work work for you?
Not everyone thrives in the same environment, and certainly, not all tips and tricks work equally for remote workers. In this book, you’ll get the foundations to figure out how you can stay productive and collaborate with your team while working from any location. It’s also the perfect book to learn how to manage remote employees.
Main highlights of the book:
- Build a regular work-from-home routine
- How to create team dynamics remotely
- Conduct difficult conversations remotely
- How to avoid video-call fatigue
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Review:
“Remote work guidebook for managers. There is only a book that HBS is out, the content is reliable and useful. “e– HBSケンタ
5. How to Make $2,000 a Month Online by McVal Osborne
Most people want to learn how to make money online. Why? Because it enables you to work anywhere, you want to. And How to Make $2,000 a Month Online, as you can guess by the title, is a bible on making a steady income 100% online.
The author, McVal Absorbe, shares how reading and interviewing thousands of experts led him to conclude that making six figures a month is all about the mindset, taking risks, learning skills, and selling solutions that customers want.
Main highlights of the book:
- How to build an online business
- Tips to make a steady monthly income as a freelancer
- Changing your mindset to understand what clients truly want
- What makes a location-independent entrepreneur successful
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Review:
“A good quick read with plenty of directions to more resources so you can dive deeper on the ideas that interest you. I like the Low-Med-High rating of the various metrics for each method (difficulty, profit potential, size of opportunity, initial cost). This helps when evaluating the different options.”– Peter Mosier
6. Working From Home: Making the New Normal Work for You by Karen Mangia
Karen Mangia is the author and Salesforce Executive who shares her experience and practical tips for those seeking to build the best remote work experience.
This book provides readers with a comprehensive resource about building and transforming your career remotely, adapting your home to remote work, time management routines, and much more!
Main highlights of the book:
- How to build the perfect home office
- Dealing with Zoom fatigue, burnout, and isolation
- The power of building great virtual presentations
- How to move your career forward with remote work
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Review:
“I was so excited for the launch of Karen’s second book after finding such tangible and relatable content in Success with Less! Karen did not disappoint. Working From Home is the modern-day handbook for anyone working from home, whether you’ve been doing it for years or adapted due to quarantine. Each chapter in Working From Home focus on a different challenge or opportunity our new WFH environment brings making this a quick reference guide for those who don’t have the time to read it cover to cover. Karen’s real-world experience coupled with guest interviews and tips make this an engaging and entertaining read on top of a relevant and practical guide.”– A. Dodge
7. Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Remote: Office Not Required is one of the key books about why remote work is valuable. Its authors, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier are the Founders of 37 Signals, the company that built Basecamp, one of the most popular project management systems.
The book, released almost a decade ago (in 2013), highlights why companies need to embrace remote work and how to lead your employees 100% remotely. At the time, the book was controversial as many companies considered remote work unnecessary. Years later, this has become a must-read, especially for those new to the remote work world.
Main highlights of the book:
- How to increase retention and engagement in remote teams
- Why remote work works for both employees and employers
- How to work across multiple time zones
- The advantages of remote work
Amazon Rating: 4.3/5
Amazon Review:
“The book presents a convincing argument as to the effectiveness of remote working and how it must be built into a company’s culture. One thing I want to note is that while the book focuses on information workers and creative technology workers, it still applies if you work in a bureaucracy or are a sales person or account manager or doing just about anything else that requires a computer, a phone, and some documents. In fact, there are thousands of corporations that use outsourcing services (for high and low-level tasks) and they’re never picky about the outsourcing firm working wherever they like. Isn’t it about time that started applying to in-house employees?”– Rudolf Olah
8. The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel
For many, The Long-Distance Leader is the best book on leading virtual teams. Its guiding principle is “leadership first, location second,” meaning that the key elements of leadership should remain unchanged regardless if employees are down the hall or in a different country.
The authors are the co-founders of the Remote Leadership Institute and thought the book focused on teaching leaders the 19 basic rules for virtual managers.
Main highlights of the book:
- What are the characteristics of a good manager?
- Insights on the Remote Leadership Model
- How technology should be a tool and not a distraction
- Managing projects successfully
Amazon Rating: 4.3/5
Amazon Review:
“All leaders in today’s world need to be highly effective long-distance leaders. This book is a rich resource of everything you need to know to be an expert in leading remote workers and teams. No stone is left unturned. While yes, a key component of being a great long-distance leader is to use the tools available in a very competent fashion, this book goes beyond. It puts you in the chair of the remote worker and helps you to feel what they’re feeling. If you’ve ever worked remotely, you know how isolated it can feel. Perhaps the most valuable lesson in this book is to put yourself in their shoes. How would it feel? How can you make them feel a valued part of the team? This book answers those key questions in a very comprehensive fashion. If you are a long-distance leader and aspire to be a world-class long-distance leader, indulge! Great job Kevin and Wayne! Thank you!”– Garry Terhune
9. Leading from Anywhere by David Burkus
Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams by David Burkus is a unique book on managing remote teams. It provides readers with a rich number of strategies and guidelines for tackling the main challenges remote leaders face.
David Burkus, a top business thought leader, has focused on researching and conducting case studies of those companies that thrived through remote work. The book provides managers with a complete guide on leading teams and overcoming the most common challenges.
Main highlights of the book:
- Helping your remote team balance work with life
- Main challenges of remote work and how to overcome them
- Finding the right communication strategies for your remote team
- How to hire and onboard remote employees
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Review:
“David Burkus always delivers superb content and this wonderful book is no exception. This is the book we all need to read on how to lead and manage dispersed teams. Incredibly relevant right now during the pandemic where we are all struggling to understand how to effectively help our businesses succeed in an ever-changing world. Filled with lots of great ideas, examples, how-to’s, and other tools to help you take his ideas and implement them right away. As someone who reads more than 100 business books a year, I highly recommend Leading From Anywhere.”– John B. Spence
10. Virtual Culture: The Way We Work Doesn´t Work Anymore, A Manifesto by Bryan Miles
Despite most companies embracing remote work due to the pandemic, many still focus on keeping the traditional model, where employees need to be micromanaged and controlled.
Virtual Culture is a book that encourages readers to think outside the box acknowledging the times we are living in. Remote work is the present and future of businesses, and leaders need to adapt and embrace these changes.
Main highlights of the book:
- Benefits of remote work
- How to measure productivity
- Why remote work increases engagement in the workplace
- How to become a forward-thinking leader
Amazon Rating: 4.1/5
Amazon Review:
“This book confirmed to me the benefit and value of working remotely. Personally, I have worked in a traditional business with set hours and an office and absolutely hated it. I enjoyed my coworkers and the work I was doing but found myself constantly checking the clock for my next break. I noticed I wasn’t the only one that was clocking out right at 5:00 pm every day. I later got a job as an independent contractor where I had the flexibility to make my own hours and loved it. Post-pandemic most of my work as a contractor transitioned to virtual and, again, I loved the flexibility and work/life balance. In this book, Bryan gives you important information based on his own success in a virtual platform. His writing style is conversational and easy to read. He highlights his business model from BELAY and gives you advice on transitioning from a traditional to virtual business while keeping the mission and values of a company intact, showing that it is possible to have a positive and functional virtual work culture.”– Sara F.
11. Remote, Inc. By Robert C. Pozen and Alexandra Samuel
Remote, Inc. shares how work was never about being in an office. Adopting a different mindset and learning to measure your success, not on a 9 to 5 schedule, is what will help you thrive.
The book shares the best habits to adopt when being a remote worker, and it’s also a great tool for these businesses who want to build a hybrid model that combines onsite and remote work.
Main highlights of the book:
- Why you should focus on objectives, not on a 9 to 5 workday
- Learn how to prioritize tasks
- How to build valuable relationships with your colleagues
- Making online meetings productive
Amazon Rating: 4.3
Amazon Review:
“Just finished this book and I do recommend this to anyone who is in anyway impacted or driving the new reality of working in a hybrid environment. For many of us, the last 15 months have been challenging, both personally and in adjusting to the new way of working. As we hope to get back to the office and prepare ourselves to work in a hybrid mode, we will need to adapt our mindset and habits, while we leverage the tools that are available. This book covers the perspective of a manager and a remote worker while talking about the mindset and strategies to thrive in this new world. It goes on to highlight and share some tools and skills to organise our remote working life. Loved the concept of the Goldilocks plan which refers to the ideal mix between working from remote and office”– Robert C. Pozen
Thrive While Working Remotely
Learning the dos and don’ts of remote work can be frustrating, especially when you have zero experience. Fortunately, many leaders have learned the hard way and are spilling secrets about becoming successful remote workers and managers.
These audiobooks are a great starting point to strengthen your leadership style or simply gain strategies to be a more productive and organized remote worker.
