The 4 best books on working from home

Working from home has its perks. Employees get to wear whatever is comfortable and save money, amongst other things. But it can easily go downhill: slow internet, too much noise, and plenty of distractions. HR needs to prepare and adapt to the distributed workforce – and what better way of doing that than reading? Here are the best books on working from home.

Working from home is here to stay

Even the most skeptical business leaders have to face that distributed teams are here to stay. As experts on strategies regarding talent, HR leaders should be the first to champion innovative approaches to team management, supporting department heads in the transition.

Recently, Facebook made the news when they announced employees can now ask to work from home, forever. During a live stream, Mark Zuckerberg said “the reality is that I don’t think it’s going to be that we wake up one day on January first and nobody has any more concerns about this.” The company is also going to hire more remote employees moving forward.

And it’s not just Facebook. Brazilian fintech Nubank also announced their teams will work from home until the end of the year, at least. According to David Veléz, Nubank’s founder and CEO, they’ve “proven we’re capable of operating and remaining productive even during social distancing. We’ve been able to adapt and keep delivering our clients exceptional support.”

As the nature of the workplace changes to fully embrace digital transformation, professionals all over the world discuss what this means:

Is the company feeling challenged by WFH?

As humans, we tend to always focus on the negative and forget there is also a positive to balance things out. Having a home office requires self-discipline, setting up a home office (or, at least, a corner in a room) and can be complicated, but it can also be an opportunity to learn more and become more independent.

Benefits for companies

• Expanded talent pool. Now that you know teams can work from home and stay productive, nothing’s in the way of new hires being remote. Recruiters don’t need to limit sourcing to who’s nearby anymore. You can access who’s the best person for the job, no matter where they are. Not only do you make better hires – and probably find more relevant pay scales, but you also spare them the commute or relocation.
• Savings with infrastructure and facilities. How much do you spend on rented office space? Internet, electricity, coffee, security, receptionists… the list goes on and on. As on-site teams shrink, so do your costs. That budget can be better invested in things that actually grow the business, from new hires to tools.

Want to build a distributed team? Talk to Ubi.

Benefits for employees

• Better quality of life. Less time commuting, more free time. They can finally join that virtual yoga class they’ve been waiting for so long, catch up on a TV show, or enjoy the company of loved ones.
• Better margin. Less eating out (unless it’s for leisure) and other spending associated to being out of the house for 10-14 hours a day. Employees get to save more money or redirect it into something else, like a new hobby or passion project.

Want to work remotely? Join our talent community.

Boost the team’s performance: the best books on working from home

Reading has gone up during 2020s’ quarantine. Granted, fiction can be one of the best ways to cope, but it’s also proven to be a good time to go back to basics and learn new ways of doing things. Here are the best books on working from home you can refer employees.

1. Bored and Brilliant
   Manoush Zomorodi’s been on our radar due to her podcast, Note to Self. It’s a great listen if you enjoy hearing about how tech affects the world around you. One day, she did an experiment on the podcast called bored and brilliant and the results were so interesting she literally wrote the book on it. Essentially, it’s about the importance of disconnecting from our phones and reconnecting with boredom. That’s our brain’s way of deciding what “files” are important and which ones can go. It’s how our creativity flows. That’s why this is one of the best books on working from home.
2. Presence
   Based on Amy Cuddy’s 2012 TED Talk, the book focuses on how power poses can make a difference when it comes to, well, presence. The book has been through the wringer, with many people trying to debunk the theory behind the material, but the main point still stands. As long as you’re feeling confident, you’ll do a better job.
3. Atomic Habits
   Beginning from scratch is hard, right? And forging new habits is one of them. Planning and organizing can be easy, but go time tends to be when we actually have a problem. That’s why a book like Atomic Habits is helpful. It reshapes the way you think about progress and success and gives you the tools you need to transform habits whether you are a team, a company, or an individual.
4. Work Together Anywhere
   Remember when we said working remotely has plenty of benefits? This book takes that and runs with it, presenting you with lots of different ways you can work remotely and still be great at what you do. Work Together Anywhere is packed with actionable advice for agility and collaboration.

Already working from home and want to boost your career or perhaps you’re looking to build a distributed team? Contact us and reach out asap.

Scheila Farias Silveira

International Marketing Leader, specialized in tech. Proud to have built marketing and business generation structures for some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies on both sides of the Atlantic (UK, DACH, Iberia, LatAm, and NorthAm). Big fan of motherhood, world music, marketing, and backpacking. A little bit nerdy too!