Prioritizing work-life balance is the key to finding a fulfilling career

For women, work-life balance can seem like an unattainable goal. Whether it’s taking a Zoom meeting while tending to a crying baby, or being expected to answer an “urgent” email while on your one hard-earned vacation, women face work-life balance disruptions every day. There are so many responsibilities, spoken and unspoken, paid and unpaid, that women take on in their homes, workplaces, and social lives. Work-life balance, when disrupted, can lead to stress, burnout, anger, depression, and dissatisfaction among other things. Companies have a responsibility to help promote work-life balance, especially for women, but many times, it comes down to self-advocacy. When we take ownership of our workspaces, boundaries, time, and stress cycles, we can start to breathe a bit easier. Of course, this is easier said than done, which is why relying on resources created by women experts is so important. In this article, you will find 5 excellent books about work-life balance written by women, tailored to women’s lives. So sit back, relax, and get reading– it’s time to make work-life balance a priority and find more fulfillment at work. 

5 Books that Can Help You Achieve Work-life Balance

1. Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

How do I set boundaries? If you search for an answer to this question, you might find that boundaries are important everywhere. How do I set boundaries at work? How do I set boundaries at home? How do I set boundaries as a parent? While many women know that setting boundaries is essential in maintaining work-life balance, it can be difficult to know where to start– especially when we are uncomfortable saying “no” to our own family, bosses, friends, colleagues, and even ourselves. Luckily, licensed counselor and relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab lays it all out for us in Set Boundaries, Find Peace, an easy-to-follow, extremely actionable guide for anyone who feels out of control of their obligations and responsibilities. Through digestible lists, short chapters, and actionable takeaways all rooted in research and the latest CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) techniques, Tawwab (@nedratawwab on Instagram) shows us how, why, and where to set boundaries effectively. Pick up this book today and feel the freedom of “no.” You won’t regret it.

2. Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life by Marie Kondo

Many of us have spent a lot of time with Marie Kondo. Her Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, was a binge-worthy hit in 2019. Her first book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has been published in more than 30 countries, and she was one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2015. All said, Japanese consultant Marie Kondo sparked joy in our hearts with her unique, compelling organizational strategies that emphasize keeping your favorite things, rather than just getting rid of junk. You might think tidiness is more important in the home. But what if how your workspace looked changed the way you thought about your job? Enter Kondo’s second book, Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life, co-written with organizational psychologist Scott Sonenshein. This book offers key strategies for “tidying up” physical workspaces in order to reflect your unique work-life persona. Equally as important, however, are Kondo and Sonenshein’s instructions on tidying up your mind at work. The authors offer incredible stories, strategies, quizzes, and other resources for restructuring the way you think about work to enhance your quality of life (and increase productivity). Whether you have a plant jungle on your desk or prefer a minimal workspace, read this book to achieve balance between your mind and your physical environment. 

3. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski

Women experience burnout more than men. Women also experience burnout differently than men. Logically, we can understand that burnout is a problem, but how do we address burnout and the specific ways in which it affects women? Sisters and co-authors Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, set out to write the bible on burnout, and talk about how women can reframe and release stress, one layer at a time. The first sentence of Burnout says it all, “This is a book for any woman who has felt overwhelmed and exhausted by everything she had to do, and yet still worried she wasn’t doing ‘enough.’” With anecdotes from working women, straightforward definitions and psychological research, a detailed guide on how to return the body back to a state of relaxation, and so much more, this book is essential for working mothers, parents, multitaskers, and any woman who feels that 24 hours is just not enough. 

4. Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone by Sarah Jaffe

For history nerds who also struggle with work-life balance, this is the book for you. Sarah Jaffe is a labor equity expert whose transporting writing brings every reader along for a bold, empowering ride. From unpaid internships to parenthood to emotional labor, women often are told that their work isn’t really work. But in Work Won’t Love You Back, Jaffe argues that there is no such thing as a “labor of love,” and even work done out of passion or love should be paid fairly. Throughout this history-packed book, we learn how to reframe work and figure out what actually brings us joy, pleasure, and satisfaction– and how to get paid what we’re worth for it. If you feel trapped by your stress, overwhelmed by the state of your career, or simply wish you were recognized for the unpaid labor you do every day, then Jaffe is your guide to a more equitable and fulfilled future. The minute you pick up this book, you will time travel through centuries of labor history, from suffrage to the modern-day workplace, learning how exactly we got to where we are today– and what you can do to change your reality of work. 

5. How to Work Without Losing Your Mind by Cate Sevilla

Work stress is real. Work stress for women is a whole different animal. Cate Sevilla’s 2021 release begins with a statement of solidarity for the “loo-criers,” or the womxn who spend at least some part of their workday huddled in a bathroom, crying into their cardigan sleeves. The rest of the book is just as refreshing, relatable, and value-packed– while learning how to handle the ills of the modern workplace, you will also feel incredibly seen, and you might even turn those tears into happy ones. How to Work Without Losing Your Mind takes on many topics that infringe on our mental well-being and work-life balance: workload, the job hunting process, micromanaging, discrimination, lack of motivation, lack of pay, recovering from mistakes, and so much more. Through humor and unabashed honesty, Sevilla acts as a guide, offering practical solutions for the odd, enraging work problems that no one talks about. Cate Sevilla is an open book, and we are lucky that we get to read it. 

Introducing the CCWomen Book Club

If you love these book recommendations, then I have great news for you! The CCWomen Book Club launches this July, as part of our newly minted CCWomen Digital Membership Platform. 

Each month, we will choose a book to read, discuss it asynchronously throughout the month, and meet up for a group discussion and celebration. All books will be relevant to growing leadership skills, addressing burnout, and so many other topics relevant to helping you reach your goals. 

The CCWomen Book Club will be led by me, Grace Gilbert, CCWomen’s resident writer, author of multiple short collections of poetry and essays, and former English professor. 

If you are also a book lover, be sure to click here to be the first in line for CCWomen Membership!

We can’t wait to roll out the red carpet for you. 

Like what you see? Email us at ccwomen@cmpteam.com and let us know your favorite work-life balance resources.