The Real Cost of Always Being Available at Work
It starts with a ping. Then another. And another.
Next thing you know, it’s 8:17PM on a Sunday and you’re knee-deep in a Slack thread about Q3 planning.
Being responsive feels productive. Helpful. Responsible.
Until it doesn’t.
Until the team is burned out. Trust is frayed. And the work? Shallow. Scattered. Reactive.
Always-on culture doesn’t just exhaust people. It erodes the very things high-performing teams rely on:
Trust: People stop believing their time is respected.
Clarity: Important messages drown in noise.
Autonomy: Team members wait for a ping instead of thinking for themselves.
Here’s the kicker: Most managers don’t realize they’re enabling it.
They send that quick Sunday email “to clear their head.” They respond to a ping at 9PM just to be helpful. They forget to clarify, “Not urgent. Respond tomorrow.”
And their team follows their lead.
So if you want to protect your team’s energy, momentum, and sanity?
Model what respect for time actually looks like.
Delay-send your emails
Use urgency tags sparingly
Normalize asynchronous responses
Availability isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a leadership blind spot.
Shine a light on it.