More than just a trendy topic, workplace well-being has a significant impact on retention, productivity, and the general health of the company. Chronic stress and burnout hurt people, but they also cost businesses billions of dollars every year in lost productivity and employee turnover, according to numerous studies. However, establishing workplaces where workers feel appreciated, safe, and inspired is still a difficult task. How can leaders strike a balance between sincere concern and high standards? What is the scientific consensus regarding psychological safety, trust, and motivation? According to business guru Simon Sinek, “Being in charge is not what leadership is all about.” It is about looking out for people under your supervision. This expert roundup examines how evidence-based tactics and careful consideration can transform company culture for long-term success.

Dying for a Paycheck: Confronting Workplace Burnout

We recommend Dying for a Paycheck by Jeffrey Pfeffer. It’s not a typical HR book—it’s raw, uncomfortable, and brutally honest. But that’s why it stuck with us.

In custom software services, client demands can easily run over people’s boundaries. We’ve seen how long hours, time zone stress, and constant delivery pressure quietly drain our teams. This book made us stop and look harder.

It connects workplace stress to real health risks. Not in theory actual numbers. That hit us. We weren’t trying to burn anyone out. But by not acting early, we were letting it happen.

After reading it, we made a few changes:

Weekly check-ins focused on how people feel, not just what they’re doing

Clearer shift rules for US clients, so engineers aren’t stuck in late-night loops

More pushback when unrealistic timelines come in

This book doesn’t offer tools or templates. But it forces you to ask better questions. Are we doing harm without realizing it? Are we listening early enough?

It’s not feel-good reading. But it helps you lead with more awareness. And that’s what stays with you.

Vikrant Bhalodia, Head of Marketing & People Ops, WeblineIndia

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Leaders Eat Last: Trust Builds Stronger Teams

One book that completely changed how I approach team building and culture is “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek. I read it during a tough phase when I was scaling my agency and inadvertently burning out good people. The book digs into the biology of trust and how a sense of safety and purpose in the workplace drives performance without sacrificing well-being.

It helped me shift from just chasing KPIs to intentionally designing a work environment where people feel seen and protected. That one shift reduced turnover and actually improved productivity across the board. It’s not just a fluffy theory, either. It shows how investing in employee well-being directly fuels business outcomes. I recommend it to every founder or HR leader who’s tired of band-aid perks and wants to build a team that lasts.

Georgi Petrov, CMO, Entrepreneur, and Content Creator, AIG MARKETER

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Employee Experience Drives Business Success

I highly recommend “The Employee Experience Advantage” by Jacob Morgan. This book does an excellent job of highlighting how to balance business goals with employee well-being. It focuses on the importance of creating an environment where employees thrive, which directly impacts productivity and company performance. The book combines real-world case studies with practical strategies, emphasizing the need for businesses to invest in their people to see long-term success. One key takeaway for me was how employee experience—encompassing physical, cultural, and technological environments—can be a powerful driver for business growth. It reshaped how I approach HR by focusing not just on policies but on crafting a culture where people feel valued. It’s a practical read for anyone looking to align human resources with broader business objectives while prioritizing employee happiness.

Nikita Sherbina, Co-Founder & CEO, AIScreen

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Psychological Safety Powers High-Performance Teams

A Book That Gets the Balance Right

One book I always return to is The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson. It doesn’t scream “HR” on the cover, but it nails the core of what drives real performance: psychological safety. Leaders chasing business goals often overlook that fear in the workplace kills innovation. This book helps connect the dots; when people feel safe, they perform better. Simple as that. It’s not just about making folks feel good; it’s about building teams that don’t hold back. What I’ve seen in high-growth environments is that you can’t scale culture as an afterthought. Edmondson gives you a practical lens for embedding well-being into business strategy without slowing things down.

Kraig Kleeman, Founder, CEO, The New Workforce

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Data-Driven HR Balances Performance With Well-Being

Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock is a strong recommendation. Written by Google’s former SVP of People Operations, it shows how data-driven HR can align high performance with employee well-being. It challenges old-school thinking and offers practical ways to build trust, autonomy, and clarity—without sacrificing business outcomes. It’s grounded, not idealistic.

Paul Bichsel, CEO, SuccessCX

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True Motivation Requires Purpose, Not Just Rewards

“Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink and “Wellbeing at Work” by Jim Clifton. These are two outstanding books for HR managers who aim to find a balance between corporate goals and employee health.

Pink talks on motivation research in “Drive” and says that freedom, mastery, and purpose are better motivators than rewards. According to the book this strategy not only helps the company attain its goals, but it also makes workers happier.

Jim Clifton’s “Wellbeing at Work,” on the other hand, goes into great detail about how companies may make a culture that supports the health and happiness of all their employees. Clifton talks on how employee engagement is directly related to corporate performance and stresses that firms need to spend money on their employees’ health and happiness for long-term prosperity. He says that the company does better when its staff are doing well.

These two books together give a complete look at how to balance keeping employees happy with reaching corporate goals. They are must-reads for HR professionals and business leaders.

Gianluca Ferruggia, General Manager, DesignRush

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Horizontal Connections Fuel Global Organizational Growth

While we are not a business organization but rather a global nonprofit working across 120 countries—primarily on climate-related issues—one of the most challenging aspects we face is building and maintaining horizontal relationships across cultures and regions.

We strongly believe that horizontal connections—between colleagues, volunteers, and partners—are the foundation for sustainable growth in any organization. This value-driven, people-centered approach is not only relevant to nonprofits like ours but also essential for mission-oriented businesses seeking long-term impact.

In regions such as Eastern Europe, for instance, many traditional structures are highly hierarchical, making it particularly difficult to foster a culture of horizontal collaboration. However, to address global challenges like microplastics and climate change, we know we must scale rapidly and globally—and horizontal connectivity is what enables that.

As for a book recommendation, I suggest “Reinventing Organizations” by Frederic Laloux. It offers a visionary but practical look at how organizations—both nonprofit and corporate—can evolve beyond traditional management models and instead prioritize trust, self-management, and purpose. It’s a fantastic resource for understanding how values and well-being can align with long-term organizational effectiveness.

Maryna Ovtsynova, President | Climate Threat Strategist | Mother, Speaker, Journalist, Allatra

About Humane HR Perspectives

Our round-up series “Humane HR Perspectives” examines the fundamentals of humanising human resources (HR) from the perspectives of top authorities within and relevant to the industry. Q&A sessions with founders, CEOs, HR professionals, business leaders, and other significant players who are influencing the direction of HR are included in every edition.

Throughout the employee life cycle, we address a wide range of subjects in this series, including recruitment and selection, onboarding, training and development, performance management, employee engagement, pay and benefits, and more. We also go over important topics like compliance, change management in the workplace, morale and welfare, workplace communications, and diversity and inclusion.

The “Humane HR Perspectives” series offers insightful advice and practical examples to help develop a more encouraging, productive, and successful workplace—whether you’re an HR professional, a business leader, or just someone who is enthusiastic about creating a great work environment. Join us as we explore the approaches, difficulties, and triumphs that characterise HR humanisation and acquire unique access to the knowledge and experiences of individuals spearheading the movement.

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