Reading list
Books we point readers to from our articles, grouped by topic, plus a few ordinary workspace aids. Each entry has a line on what it covers and who it suits.
A book can give you words for what you are going through, or a manager a better way to run a team. It cannot assess you or replace care. If low mood, worry or exhaustion has lasted for weeks, start with a doctor, a licensed counselor or your employee assistance program, and use these alongside that help.
How we chose
Books are picked for the authors’ expertise (clinicians, researchers, and in a few cases journalists who did the reporting) and for a long record with readers. Workspace aids are chosen from makers’ specifications and long-standing buyer feedback. We have not tested them, nothing here is a treatment, and no publisher or maker pays to be listed.
Burnout and recovery
On what burnout is, why rest has to be planned, and how to change the work that caused it.
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
Separates the stressor from the stress response, with simple ways to finish the cycle at the end of a hard day.
Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
A historian looks at how productive people built deliberate rest into their days, and why it is a skill.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
Oliver Burkeman
A calm argument against the endless to-do list, and for choosing what to neglect on purpose.
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
Cal Newport
Three principles for knowledge workers: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, obsess over quality.
Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation
Anne Helen Petersen
A cultural reporter traces how work, debt and always-on phones made burnout feel normal.
Read more: How to Recover From Burnout: What Helps and How Long It Takes · Burnout Books: Five Worth Reading and Who Each One Suits · Rebuilding Your Career After Burnout Without Starting From Zero · Early Warning Signs of Burnout: A Field Guide for Managers
Anxiety, low mood and getting help
Clinicians' and researchers' books that explain common struggles and what therapy is like. They sit next to professional care, never in place of it.
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
Julie Smith
A clinical psychologist's short, practical chapters on low mood, anxiety, stress and self-criticism.
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
David D. Burns
The classic self-help introduction to cognitive behavioral therapy, with exercises for anxious and low moods.
The Upward Spiral
Alex Korb
A neuroscientist explains the small changes (sleep, movement, decisions, gratitude) that can shift a low mood.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Lori Gottlieb
A therapist writes about her clients and her own therapy. A gentle way to see what therapy is actually like.
Lost Connections
Johann Hari
A journalist's look at the social causes of depression and anxiety, including meaningless work.
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk
A psychiatrist explains how trauma is held in the body and the range of approaches used to treat it.
Read more: Mental Health Books Worth Reading, and What They Can't Do · Burnout vs Depression: How They Overlap and Where They Differ · What Is an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and How Does It Work? · Why Employees Don't Use the EAP, and What Actually Raises Utilization
Self-compassion and confidence
For the inner critic that gets loud before reviews, promotions and new jobs.
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
Kristin Neff
The researcher behind self-compassion studies on how to treat yourself as you would a struggling colleague.
Dare to Lead
Brené Brown
Courage, trust and hard conversations for managers, from a researcher who studies vulnerability.
Read more: Imposter Syndrome at Work: What It Is and What Helps
Leading teams and psychological safety
For managers and HR: trust, candor and the habits that let people speak up.
The Fearless Organization
Amy C. Edmondson
The Harvard researcher who defined psychological safety on how leaders build teams where people speak up.
Radical Candor (revised edition)
Kim Scott
How managers can care personally while challenging directly, so feedback lands as help rather than threat.
The Culture Code
Daniel Coyle
What close, high-trust teams do differently, told through stories from classrooms, kitchens and special forces.
Dare to Lead
Brené Brown
Courage, trust and hard conversations for managers, from a researcher who studies vulnerability.
Read more: Training Managers to Talk About Mental Health Without Overstepping
Focus, time and remote work
On protecting attention, saying no and keeping work to a human pace, in the office or at home.
Deep Work
Cal Newport
A case for protected, uninterrupted blocks of focus, and practical ways to win them back from email and chat.
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout
Cal Newport
Three principles for knowledge workers: do fewer things, work at a natural pace, obsess over quality.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
Oliver Burkeman
A calm argument against the endless to-do list, and for choosing what to neglect on purpose.
Read more: Stress Management Techniques at Work and the Fixes That Matter More · Hybrid Schedules and Wellbeing: Lessons From the Return-to-Office Years · Isolation in Remote Teams: Building Connection on Purpose
Neurodiversity at work
Written by and with autistic people and people with ADHD.
Unmasking Autism
Devon Price
Written for autistic adults who mask at work, with practical ideas for unmasking and recovering from burnout.
Driven to Distraction (Revised)
Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey
The long-standing guide to adult ADHD by two psychiatrists who have it, updated in the revised edition.
Read more: Autistic Burnout and ADHD Burnout at Work: Signs and Support
Sleep and habits
The everyday basics that make every other kind of support work better.
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker
A sleep scientist on what sleep does for mood, memory and health, and why shift patterns and late nights cost so much.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
Small, repeatable changes and how to make them stick, without relying on willpower or a fresh start in January.
Read more: Sleep, Movement and Screens: Everyday Habits That Protect Mental Health at Work · Sunday Scaries: What They Mean and How to Ease Them · Self-Care Journal Prompts for Before, During and After Work
Workspace aids
Ordinary items that make focus and breaks a little easier. Comfort, not treatment.
Time Timer visual timer (8 inch)
A silent 60-minute timer whose red disc shrinks as time passes, handy for focus blocks and real breaks.
Soundcore by Anker Q20i noise-cancelling headphones
Affordable over-ear headphones with active noise cancelling, for open-plan offices and noisy commutes.
The Five Minute Journal
A guided journal with short morning and evening prompts. Easy to keep up during busy weeks.
Read more: Stress Management Techniques at Work and the Fixes That Matter More · Self-Care Journal Prompts for Before, During and After Work
Light therapy lamps
Light therapy is used for seasonal depression under medical guidance. Talk to your doctor before you start, especially if you have bipolar disorder, an eye condition or take medication that makes you sensitive to light.
Verilux HappyLight Lucent light therapy lamp
A compact, UV-free LED light therapy panel rated at 10,000 lux by the maker, small enough for a desk.
Verilux HappyLight Luxe light therapy lamp
A larger UV-free LED panel from the same maker, rated at 10,000 lux, with adjustable brightness.
Carex Day-Light Classic Plus light therapy lamp
A tall, angled lamp designed to shine down from above eye level, which many people find easier on the eyes.
Circadian Optics Lattis light therapy lamp
A slim LED lamp that looks like an ordinary desk lamp, for shared offices and small spaces.
Read more: Light Therapy Lamps for Winter Workdays: What to Know First · When the Days Get Shorter: Seasonal Mood and What Teams Can Do