Wednesday 01 April 2026 6:02 am  |  Updated:  Tuesday 31 March 2026 6:45 pm

The Debate: Is M&S’s boss right, should CEOs stay switched on while on holiday?

By: Anna Moloney

Deputy Comment and Features Editor

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M&S CEO Stuart Machin says work-life balance is overrated, but is he right? We hear the case for and against bosses fully logging off in this week’s Debate

YES: I much prefer a few minutes checking in than the stress of the unknown

In its latest annual review, GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre revealed it was dealing with an average of four nationally significant cyber-attacks every week. In a single year, that had risen sharply from 89 to 204 serious incidents annually, with many linked to sophisticated criminal groups or nation-state actors. That’s the reality that we as leaders are operating in, and it’s exactly why I don’t think CEOs should ever fully switch off.

Whilst the idea of it certainly sounds appealing, it doesn’t always bring peace of mind. In fact, I’ve actually found the opposite. When you’re completely disconnected, there’s always that voice in the back of my mind: “what’s happening that I don’t know about?”

And we’ve seen how quickly situations can escalate. When Heathrow Airport’s CEO was unreachable during the March 2025 power outage, a major........

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