Workplace culture is evolving faster than ever! One aspect that remains the same is that recognition for hard work is important. At last Sunday’s Oscars, gratitude was expressed for the crucial teamwork behind the scenes. With the dynamics of teamwork and “workplace” in mind, dive into following acclaimed fiction and non-fiction, including a behind-the-scenes telling of The Office, a title examining toxic productivity, and a guide to reimagine home offices.
FICTION:
Jonathan Abernathy is a self-proclaimed loser. . . he’s behind on his debts, has no prospects, no friends, and no ambitions. But when a government loan forgiveness program offers him a literal dream job, he thinks he’s found his big break. If he can appear to be competent at his new job, entering the minds of middle-class workers while they sleep and removing the unsavory detritus of their waking lives from their unconscious, he might have a chance at a new life. As Abernathy finds his footing in this role, reality and morality begin to warp around him. Soon, the lines between life and work, love and hate, right and wrong, even sleep and consciousness, begin to blur.
When Rona Jaffe’s superb page-turner was first published in 1958, it changed contemporary fiction forever. Some readers were shocked, but millions more were electrified when they saw themselves reflected in its story of five young employees of a New York publishing company. Sixty-five years later, The Best of Everything remains touchingly—and sometimes hilariously—true to the personal and professional struggles women face in the city.
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Told entirely through clever and captivating Slack messages, this irresistible, relatable satire of both virtual work and contemporary life is The Office for a new world. In a time when office paranoia and politics have followed us home, Calvin Kasulke is here to capture the surprising, absurd, and fully relatable factors attacking our collective sanity and give us hope that we can still find a human connection.
NONFICTION
The untold stories behind The Office, one of the most iconic television shows of the twenty-first century, told by its creators, writers, and actors. Hilarious, heartwarming, and revelatory, The Office gives fans and pop culture buffs a front-row seat to the phenomenal sequence of events that launched The Office into wild popularity, changing the face of television and how we all see our office lives for decades to come.
“This book will challenge you to rethink what it takes to make remote work work—not just for companies, but for people.” —Adam Grant
Based on groundbreaking reporting and interviews with workers and managers around the world, Out of Office illuminates the key values and questions that should be driving this conversation: trust, fairness, flexibility, inclusive workplaces, equity, and work-life balance. Above all, they argue that companies need to listen to their employees – and that this will promote, rather than impede, productivity and profitability. As a society, we have talked for decades about flexible work arrangements; this book makes clear that we are at an inflection point where this is actually possible for many employees and their companies. Out of Office is about so much more than zoom meetings and hybrid schedules: it aims to reshape our entire relationship to the office.
“The true story of women who stood up to huge corporations and won, creating momentous change for all working women.” –Gloria Steinem, co-founder of Ms. magazine
Nell McShane Wulfhart crafts a rousing narrative of female empowerment, the paradigm-shifting ’60s and ’70s, the labor movement, and the cadre of gutsy women who fought for their rights—and won.
Women can have it all, but do we really want it? This book shows women how to escape the trap of toxic productivity, build boundaries, avoid burnout, and live with joy. For women, work doesn’t stop in the workplace. This book is a manifesto for change and a call to inaction. Women Who Work Too Much will support you to establish healthier boundaries, stop over-committing, and move into a feeling of safety so that you can thrive, prosper, and flourish.
With bold ideas and rigorous evidence, Adam Grant investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, harness the advantages of impostor syndrome, bring nuance into charged conversations, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners. Think Again reveals that we don’t have to believe all our thoughts or internalize all our emotions. It’s an invitation to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and prize mental flexibility, humility, and curiosity over consistency.
UNSCRIPTED is an explosive and unvarnished look at the usually-secret inner workings of two public companies and a wealthy family in the throes of seismic changes—both in their business model and their workplace. In this deeply reported book, New York Times reporters James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams lay bare the battle for power at any price—and the carnage that ensued.
THE HOME OFFICE REIMAGINED: SPACES TO THINK, REFLECT, WORK, DREAM, AND WONDER by Oscar Riera Ojeda, James Moore McCown
Featuring innovative home offices that are inventive, accessible, and often wonderfully serene, this book is a rich source of ideas and inspirations embracing the call to work from home! We can work, study, and dream at a pace that responds to our individual needs in places that inspire us and fill us with delight—that is the goal…and the lesson to be learned here.
Work isn’t what it used to be. Leaders need a field guide that equips them with what to say and do as they face the new culture expectations of today’s employees. Felicia Joy and Elena Grotto, experts on behavioral science, business strategy, and organizational culture, share practical guidance to help organizations rise to these new standards by advancing seven behaviors, including the surprising—and perhaps most important—new business skill for high-performing cultures: forgiveness.
In this second edition of We Can’t Talk about That at Work!, best-selling author Mary-Frances Winters and new coauthor Mareisha N. Reese of The Winters Group, Inc., provide fresh examples, updated research, and compelling insights. Featuring a new chapter on how two organizations have actualized the model for Bold, Inclusive Conversations as well as a discussion guide and updated glossary, this modern classic offers step-by-step guidance for conducting structured conversations around polarizing topics. Leaders and organizations can address sensitive subjects head on in a way that brings people together instead of driving them apart.
For more on these and related titles visit the collection: Workplace Lit
