Redefining Work Culture: From Hustle to Healthy | Business of AV

In high-performing organizations, especially AV ones where our teams are continually putting out one fire after another, rest is often treated as a reward, not a necessary component for success. It’s often treated as something earned after a project is done. However, as we all know all too well, “done” never actually comes… The end of one task simply turns into the next “priority” to focus on. In reality though, rest is a core productivity strategy and, truly, a leadership responsibility to ensure. When we consistently deprioritize rest, we don’t just exhaust ourselves and the teams who depend upon us, we erode the quality of our decision-making, weaken culture, and quietly tax those we are called to serve. In turn, we show up, but we’re not “really” there.

In AV, we pride ourselves on being the ones who get the job done in the midst of panic situations, often behind the scenes, and without the glamour or praise. We’re the people who say yes to the last-minute install, yes to the emergency meeting, yes to the after-hours ‘quick fix’ that’s never actually quick. To be honest, there is a certain pride that comes with being the hero… the ones who keep our campus-world going ’round and ’round. But there’s a cost to that, and it often doesn’t show up until it’s too late. It shows up in burnout, discontent, and indifference. It shows up in updating LinkedIn and thinking the grass will be greener elsewhere. Yet, the truth is, we got to that place because of our own lack of setting healthy boundaries that prioritize one’s self.

It’s important to recognize that rest is not the absence of work. It is a deliberate investment in clarity, focus, emotional stability, and physical well-being. When aligned, you see the difference in your everyday leadership ability. On the days you’re rested, you can see around the roadblocks. You spot patterns, anticipate risks, and make thoughtful decisions that encourage win-win outcomes rather than simply accomplishing stated objectives. Rest promotes the capacity to listen, not just react. On the days we’re depleted, we become transactional. We default to short-term fixes, send mixed signals, and create unnecessary busywork. Over time, executing strategy and delivering impact suffers due to a physiological lessening of the capacity to perform at a sustainable level.

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we can compartmentalize the impact of our exhaustion. We act like there’s a “work me” and a “home me.” And that one can run on fumes while the other will be just fine. But, the post-pandemic world has changed the reality of “work”… We live one integrated life. It’s no longer work-life balance, but rather work-life blend. The same brain that manages capital projects, vendor negotiations, and project timelines is the same one that walks through the door at night to feed the kids, clean the house, and take care of ailing parents. When you push through fatigue day after day, it doesn’t show up as a one-time dramatic collapse (even though indeed it can), it shows up as a gradual diminishing of presence. You’re at the dinner table, but your mind is still in the last meeting or scrolling email responses. You’re in a staff member’s one-on-one where they are in desperate need of your mentorship, but you’re checked out and thinking about how you failed your family the night before. We become physically present, mentally away.

That is the quiet cost of neglecting rest… It steals your presence. And presence is where both business impact and personal connection actually happen.

Many organizations still equate commitment with constant availability. Late-night emails, weekend responses, and “just one more message” are quietly celebrated as signs of loyalty, even if not specifically stated as such. This legacy mode of thinking is no longer effective in a world that is always connected. It worked fine with landlines and punch-clocks. Not so much when a Teams, Slack, or SMS notification can perfectly ruin a date night with your spouse. Managers who do not clearly set the expectations of being “on the clock” and “off the clock,” the unintended message becomes clear… Value is measured by exhaustion level. The irony is that leaders who run themselves into the ground in the name of serving their people actually end up giving them less… Less patience, less creativity, less empathy, and less strategic clarity. And then they wonder why their teams appear to be underperforming.

The proper alternative is to build and promote a healthy culture instead of a hustle culture. A healthy culture is one where leaders set boundaries, model boundaries, and make the boundaries non-negotiables. They normalize taking time off, stepping away, disconnecting, and prioritizing self. They understand that rest isn’t something you squeeze into the cracks of life, it’s something you actually design into the way you work. You don’t wait for permission to reset, you treat it as part of the job. Need to take a hybrid meeting with camera-off so you can take a walk around the block? No problem. Need to move a deliverable deadline because you just can’t concentrate on the task at hand because you’re afraid of missing your kid’s soccer game? No problem. This means trusting our people to align their priorities in ways that align with their well-being. The work will always get done, but at what cost?

This shift requires reframing rest as strategic prioritization that is honest about the real constraints of being human. The most valuable thing we bring to our organizations is not the number of hours we log, it’s our presence, it’s our judgment, it’s our ability to be effective. This is demonstrated through the ability to make sound decisions, build and sustain trust, navigate conflict, and inspire others. When those happen, projects get completed, tickets get closed, and customers get the high-quality service they deserve. All of that is directly tied to both your physical and mental state. When drained, we narrow our ability to generate impact… When rested, we widen it.

Prioritizing yourself can feel selfish at first, especially if you built your career on outworking everyone in the room. Likewise, it can feel so in high-performing organizations or if you work in a department without a leader who respects your work-life boundaries. But, just like on an airplane, putting your own oxygen mask on first isn’t selfish, it’s preparing yourself to be able to steward others. You are managing the one asset that everything else relies on… You. By guarding your rest, you protect your team from your worst days and position them to benefit from your best ones. You become more intentional with your “yes” and more disciplined with your “no.” In turn, the more consistent, caring, and confident you start showing up both on the job site and at the dinner table.

Ultimately, creating a healthy culture that values rest over hustle is not a retreat from ambition or achieving the lofty professional and business goals, it’s the heart that supports it. The projects will keep coming. The emails will never truly be finished. The calendar will always overflow. The question is whether we will continue to trade our presence and health for the cultural illusion of productivity. Or, whether we’ll recognize that the most important thing we can do is to prioritize our own well-being so that everyone who depends on us, at work and at home, gets our best, not what’s left.