Summer is the rare stretch when the calendar slows down just enough to think.
And if you're an HR or benefits leader, that thinking time is gold. Whether you're rethinking how you're structuring your wellness program, feeling a little burned out yourself, or just looking for your next big idea — the right book can crack something open.
We put together a summer reading list that spans the full spectrum: employee well-being, mental health at work, workplace culture, and yes — a love letter to benefits people who are running on empty. Every one of these is fresh, relevant, and worth every page.
Related: Balancing Work and Wellness: Summer Tips for Remote Workers
1. Benefits Burnout: How to Fall (Back) in Love with Your Employee Benefits Career
By: Jennifer Weinstein
This one's personal. Jennifer Weinstein is a Fortune 100 benefits leader with 20+ years in the field — and she wrote the book on reigniting your passion for the work. If you've ever sat through open enrollment wondering how you got here, this is the reset you didn't know you needed. Practical, honest, and refreshingly human. A must for anyone in benefits who wants to reconnect with the "why."
2. Why Are We Here? Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants
By: Jennifer Moss
From the author of The Burnout Epidemic comes the follow-up the moment demands. Moss goes deep on why work has shifted so dramatically — AI anxiety, DEI rollbacks, remote vs. in-office tensions — and spotlights the leaders actually getting it right. It's equal parts diagnosis and roadmap. If you want to build a culture people are genuinely glad to show up to, this is your summer anchor read.
3. Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance
By: Jan-Emmanuel De Neve & George Ward
Two Oxford researchers partnered with Indeed to build the world's largest employee well-being dataset — and what they found is hard to argue with: happy employees aren't a "nice to have," they're a measurable business imperative. Rigorous, data-backed, and surprisingly readable, this one gives you the ROI language to finally bring wellbeing to the executive table in a way that sticks.
4. Minds Over Meetings: A Personal Perspective on Wellness in the Workplace
By: Kody Green
Mental health advocate and social media influencer Kody Green, draws on his own experience living and working with schizophrenia to give HR leaders a firsthand, unflinching look at what psychological safety actually means on the ground. He covers EAP navigation, stigma reduction, and building real inclusion — not the performative kind. For any HR leader serious about mental health as a core part of their benefits strategy, this is essential reading.
5. Walk: Rediscover the Most Natural Way to Boost Your Health and Longevity — One Step at a Time
By Dr. Courtney Conley & Dr. Milica McDowell
A national bestseller — and the most accessible wellness read on this list. Two leading movement experts break down why walking is one of the most powerful things your employees can do for their health, and it's more nuanced than you'd think. Walking speed predicts overall health status. Foot health predicts longevity. The optimal daily step count isn't 10,000. For HR leaders designing movement-based wellness benefits or looking for a simple, sticky message to drive employee engagement, this book delivers the science and the "aha" moments in equal measure.
6. Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health
By: Casey Means, MD
Stanford-trained physician Casey Means makes a compelling, accessible case that most chronic health issues — fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, mood instability — trace back to one root cause: metabolic dysfunction. And it's largely preventable. For HR and benefits leaders building wellness programs, this is a powerful perspective shift: from reactive sick care to proactive energy optimization. It's the kind of book your employees will talk about, and one that'll inform how you design benefits around real health outcomes.
7. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
By: Jonathan Haidt
This one expands the lens. Haidt's research on how technology is reshaping the mental health of younger generations has direct implications for what HR leaders are seeing in their workforces right now — especially as Gen Z enters the workforce in full force. Understanding the roots of rising anxiety and disconnection will make you a sharper, more empathetic benefits designer. A surprisingly compelling read for a business audience.
8. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
By Ethan Mollick
If you're going to read one book on AI this summer — make it this one. Wharton professor Ethan Mollick is a clear, grounded voice in the AI conversation, and Co-Intelligence is his definitive guide to working alongside AI without the hype or the doom. For HR leaders navigating how AI is reshaping benefits administration, talent management, and employee experience, this is your foundation.
Pack Your Bag Accordingly
This list covers the full range: from benefits burnout to evidence-based well-being science to frontline mental health advocacy. What ties them together is the same thing that drives great HR work — a belief that people deserve better, and a commitment to building it.
Want to give your people a wellness benefit they'll actually use all summer — and all year? Explore FitOn Health — the all-in-one platform with premium workouts, condition-based health education, and the largest variety of in-person experiences.
