Unusual times call for some usual habits to return. Long forgotten over the years by many, reading is one of them. All the voracious readers who had moved from reading books to listening to them (audiobooks) realized that the pandemic helped them find some more time in their schedule to flip those pages again. You no longer need to listen to audiobooks during your commute to work because where’s the commute anymore? So, sit down, sip some coffee, flip some pages or open yourself to the magic of Kindle and know everything that life can be with remote working. How? Here’s a list of 17 work-from-home books every remote worker and leader needs.
17 Must-Read Work-From-Home Books For Remote Workers
1. Surviving Remote Work by Sharon Koifman
Sharon Koifman didn´t just survive but he thrived on working from home. As the Founder and President of the first remote recruitment agency, DistantJob, Sharon shares his key strategies for successfully leading remote teams.
Surviving Remote Work is the result of 20+ years worth of experience as a remote worker. Inside, you’ll discover the tools, methods, and tactics you’ll need to survive and prosper as a remote leader
Here are some of the lessons online entrepreneurs can look forward to:
- How to start and maintain your company culture while working remotely.
- A world-class formula for onboarding new remote staff
- How to manage and prevent distractions while working from home? What is the most advanced communication technique for remote workers that no one is employing? How do you take care of security and how do you protect your company’s and your client’s data?
If there’s one work-from-home book that has it all, this has to be it. Whether you’re new to remote work or an established remote work leader, there’s something for every remote worker in this one.
And if you´re a fan of audiobooks, we have good news. The Surviving Remote Work audiobook is out now!
2. Have Fun Working Remote: Work From Home Transformation Guide For Everyone by Sheila Kennedy
Have Fun Working Remote is the best guide to establishing a work from home (WFH) program for individuals and leaders of all levels. It’s a must-read to understand where each one of us stands today in today’s changing world.
You’re already aware that working from home is not a new notion. However, the number of people working from home has grown due to the pandemics, and most likely, a much larger percentage of your team is working remotely. With this comes a big number of issues to address before things take a bad turn. This book provides the answers to make a WFH program that really works – answers that many organizations and leaders are currently looking for.
3. The Ultimate Guide to Remote Work by Wade Foster
Since its inception in 2011, Zapier has been a remote-first organization. It’s safe to say that the team has spent a significant amount of time considering common remote work challenges and developing scalable solutions.
This fifteen-chapter guide is divided into various important sections. You’ll first learn how to hire and manage remote workers. After that, you’ll learn how to create and sustain a strong virtual culture, as well as how to boost productivity, collaborate across time zones, and avoid burnout.
Finally, you’ll learn how to get a remote job and use the remote work toolkit to work smarter, not harder.
It makes the read very easy for the reader because of the section divisions and step-by-step actionable advice.
4. The Holloway Guide to Remote Work by Juan Pablo Buritica and Katie Womersley
This guide walks executives through common remote work difficulties and decisions, such as hiring, onboarding, and compensating remote staff; establishing communication channels and setting expectations; establishing a healthy business culture across time zones; and a lot more.
Buriticá and Womersley draw on their respective experiences leading distributed engineering teams at Splice and Buffer. This work-from-home book also has contributions from employees from AngelList, Doist, Remote.com, and other remote companies. It provides actionable suggestions that are practical, realistic, and frequently accompanied by case studies and examples.
5. Work Together Anywhere by Lisette Sutherland and Kirsten Janene-Nelson
Do you want to learn how to get the most out of remote working? If your answer is yes, then this is the perfect work-from-home book for you. Written by Lisette Sutherland, the former CEO of Upwork, this book covers everything on productivity, efficiency, and teamwork for remote workers.
For every team member, including remote employees and managers, the author provides a detailed roadmap for improving the remote work lifestyle. This book is the greatest guide to meeting the goals of team members that interact on a global level and enterprises who want to obtain access to the best talent regardless of location.
6. The Art of Working Remotely by Scott Dawson
What if your job completely shifts to a remote working environment? Will you be able to work at the same level of productivity from home or anywhere else? We’re all concentrating on honing our key competencies to a high level. However, while enhancing our major skills in sales, finance, design, and other related fields, we frequently overlook how we carry out our responsibilities. This book is solely dedicated to educating readers on how to work independently and create a successful remote working strategy.
The author of this guide, Scott Dawson, reveals his 21-year-long career as a remote worker. You can master the art of working remotely and efficiently flourish in a location-independent workplace while also enjoying yourself to the fullest.
7. The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and The Future of Work by Scott Berkun
This book is a personal story about Scott’s year working remotely at Automattic (one of the largest fully distributed companies out there).
As the title suggests, the book is a humorous read, although some of the topics may be specific to one company vs. being practical advice that you can use. Additionally, this book was written in 2013, so there are some outdated tools and processes that have been mitigated with recent technology like Slack or Zoom.
8. Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere by Tsedal Neeley
This book discusses the obstacles that teams and supervisors encounter when navigating the remote work world, as well as strategies for overcoming them. Neeley incorporates research and is evidence-based, ensuring that readers understand exactly what is being presented. She not only goes through various subjects and ideas linked to remote work, but she also provides a guide that you can use in your own firm.
Remote Work Revolution is for you and your team if you have any queries regarding remote work or any hesitations that are preventing your firm from taking the next step.
9. Zapier’s Ultimate Guide to Remote Work by Wade Foster
We get chapters of useful information from Zapier, plus an acknowledgments section with even more great resources. Everything you need to know about working from home is included in this book. You may learn about growing culture across borders (and time zones), how to work quicker, and how to optimize your work environment for efficiency by reading this book.
The book, which began as a series of blog articles, is part of a larger project to document the team’s experiences working remotely. Sharing both achievements and failures, it provides raw details about the real challenges and rewards of remote teams.
10. Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Remote was published by the founders of 37 Signals, the company that brought Basecamp into existence. Employers and employees that limit their research to a specific geographic area are often missing out on the best professional or firm available. That was the inspiration behind this best-selling book about the benefits of remote employment.
This book is an excellent example of how a virtual workforce might be created. 37 Signals is a pioneer in distributed or remote teams, and this book is backed by a wealth of expertise and industry knowledge. It demonstrates how companies and employees may collaborate efficiently from any location, at any time.
11. Work-from-Home Hacks 500+ Easy Ways to Get Organized, Stay Productive, and Maintain a Work-Life Balance While Working from Home! by Aja Frost
Hubspot’s Head of Content SEO, Aja Frost, has compiled a useful guide with over 500 quick and easy answers. It’s short and sweet.
It includes a wide range of tips, from how to organize your workstation to how to deal with interruptions. For those who want to be more productive, there are also helpful hints on how to keep things in order.
This book is best suited for those who are new to remote working. The methods in this book will be relatable for those who have experience working remotely. It’s a good read for everyone who wants to join the remote bandwagon!
12. How to Declutter Your Home or Work Office to Improve Productivity by Sarah Adams
You may not be thinking about clutter right now. However, it can have a negative impact on your ability to get things done. It can also lead to sleep issues, stress, and difficulty calming the mind.
Maintaining a clean home and work environment is essential. The easy-to-understand and implement suggestions in this book can help you with that. Even though it’s not a long read, it’s full of practical and inspiring advice on how to get and stay organized.
13. Work from Home Superstar: How to Stay Focused and Rock Your Day by Jack Wilson
If you’re searching for a quick read that will immerse you in the world of working from home, Jack Wilson’s book is for you. Wilson has addressed the reality of remote working with excellent finesse and offers practical advice for minimizing distractions and hassles.
This quick guide will help you achieve the independence and financial security that we all desire from remote employment. It provides detailed and practical methods for increasing productivity, scheduling work engagements, and enjoying the independence that you always wanted.
14. Working Remotely: Secrets to Success for Employees on Distributed Teams by Teresa Douglas, Holly Gordon, and Mike Webber
Your office is located in the virtual space, where you may work from anywhere—at home, in a mountain resort, or even on the beach—and explore endless prospects. Working Remotely helps to mitigate the disadvantages of remote work, such as the lack of teammates and supportive settings, and so on.
It provides practical advice on how to deal with loneliness, find global networking opportunities, and grow in your profession. Teresa, Holly, and Mike each take a different approach to assisting professionals in navigating the obstacles and opportunities of remote working. A very interesting read, indeed!
15. Balanced: Finding Center as a Work-at-Home Mom by Tricia Goyer
This is the book for stay-at-home moms who want to get back into the workforce without committing to a specific firm. Tricia Goyer has written a classic book on how to look for part-time jobs and work from home. More than that, it provides a nuanced view of the difficulties of working and parenting children at the same time.
Goyer maps out her personal experience in this frank memoir, offering unexpected solutions and guidance for new mothers who want to strike a balance between motherhood and remote working. A must-read for new moms who are juggling their work and personal life.
16. The Home Office From Hell Cure by Jeffery Landers
The author proposes a remarkable 100-day strategy to rethink your mindset and reinvigorate your career in The Home Office from Hell Cure, which is a gripping read. It’s a helpful read for home-based businesses who work remotely and helps such professionals strike a healthy work-life balance.
If you’re a remote entrepreneur who likes a definitive strategy with a day-by-day or step-by-step guidance, then this one’s for you.
17. Working From Home: Making The New Normal Work For You by Karen Mangia
Karen Mangia’s book can assist remote leaders who are grappling with the practicalities and economics of working from home.
This is a refreshing and extremely useful remote work guide that contains a wealth of useful information. This includes advice on how to manage children, set rituals and habits, and stay current with industry changes even if you work from home. If you really want to change your schedule to optimize your work in a remote environment, this one is a must-read.
Keep These Work From Home Books Handy
Whether you’re buying paperback versions of these books or going for the digital version, make sure you have them handy when you need a quick look at any of the tips. Sometimes you just need to read a page or two again to motivate yourself during lonely times while working from home or having trouble managing your personal and professional life.
These work-from-home books can make quite a difference to the way you not only manage your work on the outside but also how you manage your growth on the inside. As we know, everything revolves around your mindset and how you convert your thoughts into actions!
