13 Remote Work Books to Read This Year

The work world has changed drastically over the past few years. With a large portion of the workforce still operating from home with no plans to return to the office, many companies are looking to optimize the work-from-home experience for employees. 

Working from home comes with a unique set of challenges. It can be easy to feel isolated or lack motivation when you spend all of your time working alone in your home office. For this reason, managers need to stay up-to-date on work-from-home best practices that will keep their teams feeling fulfilled and productive. 

Let’s take a look at our top 12 remote work books to read in 2022 that will help you work smarter, achieve your goals, and make the work-from-home lifestyle delightful. 

13 remote work books to read in 2022

1The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel

The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership will help you guide your team by having you review the foundational principles for leadership. Learn about the “Three-O” Model which encourages leaders to think about outcomes, others, and ourselves—three elements that remain unchanged whether teammates are working together in a cramped office or on separate continents. The author, Kevin Eikenberry, is a renowned leadership expert, consultant, coach, and two-time bestselling author. 

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2Remote Engineering Management: Managing an Engineering Team in a Remote-First World by Alexandra Sunderland

Alexandra Sunderland is Fellow’s Senior Engineering Manager! Remote Engineering Management, her debut book, is for engineering managers, team leaders, directors, and anyone aspiring to be a great remote leader. Gain insight and practical advice about tackling engineering management from an empathetic and people-first perspective. The book will cover topics like hiring and onboarding, implementing best practices for one-on-ones, and handling staff turnover.

“Giving your team members feedback on a regular basis is a major part of your job as a manager. When done right, feedback is a gift that can help your direct reports grow in their careers and work toward their longterm goals. It’s equally important to give both praise for work that has been done well and constructive feedback to help guide people toward continuous improvement. And while feedback is so critical to both teams and individuals, it can be very difficult to give meaningful feedback, and can also be extremely difficult to receive in a way that encourages people to give even more in the future.”

– Alexandra Sunderland

3Work Together Anywhere: A Handbook on Working Remotely—Successfully—for Individuals, Teams, and Managers by Lisette Sutherland

If you’ve embraced the benefits of remote work and are now looking for a plan to optimize team success, Work Together Anywhere: A Handbook on Working Remotely—Successfully—for Individuals, Teams, and Managers may be the book for you. Learn how working from home can be a win-win for everyone when you’re prepared to collaborate productively. In this book, you’ll gain an understanding of how you can establish a remote-ready office and facilitate positive communication practices with teammates. Think of this book as your blueprint for optimizing team success! The author, Lisette Sutherland, is the director of Collaborative Superpowers, an organization that helps people work together from anywhere. 

4Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams by David Burkus

Don’t strive to survive as a remote leader. Strive to thrive! Leading from Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams is a practical guide to supervising remote employees. As a leading business thinker, Burkus provides a high-level introduction to remote management in this book. It’s structured around the life cycle of working on a team and tackles all challenges remote leaders face—from hiring and onboarding, to keeping the team engaged, to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Burkus is the author of four bestselling books about business and leadership, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and CNN among others, and delivered a TED Talk that has been viewed more than two million times.

5Office Optional: How to Build a Connected Culture with Virtual Teams by Larry English

With many companies struggling to set up their employees from home without sacrificing workplace culture, Larry English is here to provide practical tips and advice. In Office Optional: How to Build a Connected Culture with Virtual Teams, you’ll learn how to cultivate trust in a remote work environment, how to successfully recruit team members for remote work, how to build strong relationships with colleagues, how to scale up your company, and much more. The author guides readers through his experience creating and leading his own virtual company to success. English currently leads Centric Consulting, a mostly remote organization which has expanded to over 1,000 team members with operatives in 12 U.S. cities and India. 

6HBR Guide to Remote Work by The Harvard Business Review

If you’re interested in business and leadership, you’ve likely stumbled across Harvard Business Review (HBR) articles at some point. The management magazine is published by Harvard University and covers a wide range of topics related to various industries and management functions. The Review’s latest book, HBR Guide to Remote Work, gets back to the basics by outlining best practices for setting a work-from-home routine, identifying the right technology for your remote work needs, running effective virtual meetings, and avoiding the infamous Zoom fatigue.

7The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face by Peter Cappelli

In The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face, Wharton Business School professor Peter Cappelli unveils the tradeoffs that employees and employers will have to face in the modern remote workplace. He illustrates the challenges companies currently face in deciding what to do as they move forward in a post COVID-19 remote work environment, and what needs to change to accommodate everyone’s needs. It’s shocking: there is little consensus among high-profile business leaders and forward-thinking companies on whether to operate remotely or in person, or to take a hybrid approach. Read on if you’re interested in exploring how we should think about these decisions going forward, and who wins and who loses with each choice we make.

8Working From Home: Making the New Normal Work for You by Karen Mangia

Turn working remotely into a powerful career choice with Mangia’s tips and tricks! In Working From Home: Making the New Normal Work for You, she discusses how you can: create personalized time management routines to optimize your productivity at home, deliver exceptional virtual presentations, deal with burnout or feelings of isolation, and build career impact online. Learn to turn small living spaces into ideal remote set-ups and explore how you can become an asset to your company without ever setting foot in an office space. It’s a must-read for anyone who needs concrete strategies and practical advice on finding effective work-life balance while working remotely.  

9Zoom For Dummies by Phil Simon

It’s okay. We live in a confusing world and there’s no need to be ashamed about having more Zoom questions. Or perhaps you’re a Zoom expert and are looking to help out a clueless colleague… we won’t judge. Read Zoom For Dummies if you want to learn to set up meetings, add Zoom hardware to your remote office, keep your video calls secure, and share your screens and files. This book can also help you go beyond typical functions and shows you how the tool can transform your organization and the way your team works. Read on to expand your remote collaboration options and expertise! 

10The New Corner Office: How the Most Successful People Work from Home by Laura Vanderkam

Vanderkam is the author of several bestselling management and productivity books, has appeared on numerous television programs, and has had work appear in publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. It comes as no surprise that she is now tackling the topic of remote work. In Vanderkam’s latest book, The New Corner Office: How the Most Successful People Work from Home, she draws on her 18 years of remote experience to share her strategies for creativity, health, and productivity. The three work-from-home hacks she discusses in detail include: manage by task (not time), get the rhythm right, and nurture connections. Learn how you can do your clearest thinking and deepest work all from the comfort of your home. 

11Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Need convincing that letting your team work remotely is a fantastic idea? Remote: Office Not Required may be the book for you. Both companies and employees alike are discovering the advantages of working from home. This book explains how individuals can contribute meaningfully and reach personal and professional goals. It also details how remote work can increase a company’s talent pool, reduce staff turnover, and help organizations conduct business across time zones. With one in 10 global workers working from home permanently and one in five telecommuting frequently, it’s time that companies learn how a productive remote work setup can be accomplished. 

12Influencing Virtual Teams: 17 Tactics That Get Things Done with Your Remote Employees by Hassan Osman

This book explores the psychological secrets of persuasion that influence your employees. Use Influencing Virtual Teams: 17 Tactics That Get Things Done with Your Remote Employees as a guide on how to improve your team’s engagement and commitment. If you’re already an effective remote manager but are looking for concrete strategies to establish trust and ensure 100 percent commitment from your team members, look no further than this guide. Read this book and challenge yourself to influence your team to achieve goals you once thought impossible. 

13Running Remote by Liam Martin & Rob Rawson

Running Remote helps you uncover the mindset and strategies to build and grow organizations successfully from the ground up. This book helps you learn how a remote business model impacts traditional management and work processes through mastering the fundamentals of asynchronous communication, learning real-world lessons from remote workers, and gaining an understanding of hiring and managing remote employees.

Parting advice 

Use our guide to discover which remote work books you should check out this year. Don’t get overwhelmed by the number of must-reads. First, think about what you’re looking to master. Then, select a few that speak to you and use them to discover new techniques and strategies that will help you become the most effective employee or manager. Whether you’re interested in self-discipline or managing your team, there’s a remote work book out there for you. Happy reading!