Why an ‘always on’ culture is to the detriment of a business - Ros Jones

The idea that constant connectivity, mental availability, and blurred boundaries are markers of commitment or leadership strength is not only outdated, it’s dangerous. And it doesn’t work.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of working with leaders on the brink, or already in the grip, of burnout, is that people don’t change their habits because they’re told to. They change when they have to. When the body forces a stop. When the mind can’t keep going. When the cost of ‘pushing through’ finally outweighs the illusion of control.

Burnout is not a failure of resilience. It’s the result of sustained misalignment between demand and recovery.

So when leaders dismiss the importance of switching off, what they’re really doing is normalising a pattern that leads people, inevitably, to that breaking point.

What makes this particularly interesting in the context of M&S is that it wasn’t long ago the organisation was publicly championing a four-day work week, positioning it as a progressive step toward better work-life balance and a strategy to attract top talent.

That wasn’t just a policy decision. It was an acknowledgment of a truth the best organisations are already acting on: people do their best work when they have space to recover.

You cannot promote balance as a talent strategy on one hand, and dismiss it as unnecessary on the other. That contradiction doesn’t go unnoticed by employees. And more importantly, it erodes trust.

Because the reality is switching off isn’t indulgent. It’s essential. It’s where cognitive processing happens. It’s where creativity resets. It’s where leaders regain the clarity required to make sound decisions. Without it, performance doesn’t plateau, it declines.

The leaders I work with who are truly effective are not the ones who are always ‘on’. They are the ones who know when to step back. Who understand that boundaries are not barriers to success, but the very structure that makes sustainable success possible.

There is also a cultural piece here that cannot be ignored. When senior leaders publicly question the value of switching off, it creates a ripple effect. It signals, whether intended or not, that rest is optional, that recovery is negotiable, and that constant availability is expected. And people will follow that lead. Until they can’t.

Habits, especially unhealthy ones, are incredibly hard to break. Not because people don’t know better, but because systems and cultures reinforce them. Change doesn’t happen because it’s encouraged. It happens when it becomes unavoidable. That’s the hard lesson. And it’s one many leaders, unfortunately, learn too late.

This isn’t about criticising individuals. It’s about challenging a narrative that continues to put people at risk while being framed as ambition or dedication. Sustainable leadership requires a different lens. One that recognises that energy, not time, is the most valuable resource we have. One that understands that recovery is not a reward, it’s a requirement.

And one that accepts that if you build a culture where people cannot switch off, you are not building resilience, you are accelerating burnout.

Ros Jones is a burnout and leadership expert.