Every year Apple releases a big new version of macOS, and every Mac in the studio starts offering it. The short answer for a working studio is: not on day one. The longer answer is more useful.
In short
The big yearly upgrade can wait a few weeks. Small security updates should not wait at all.
The risk is rarely the Mac. It is the plug-ins, drivers and older apps your work depends on.
Upgrade one machine first, in a quiet week, with a backup.
Two kinds of update
They look alike and they are not.
A security update changes the number after the point, say 26.6 to 26.7. It fixes holes that have been found. Install these within days.
A major upgrade changes the first number, say 26 to 27, and usually comes with a new name. It changes how things work underneath. This is the one to pause on.
What actually breaks
Rarely the Mac itself. Usually something around it.
Plug-ins and extensions for design, video and audio software, which often need their own update first.
Drivers for printers, scanners, audio interfaces, drawing tablets and colour calibrators.
Older apps the maker has stopped updating, which were only just holding on.
Creative studios feel this more than most, because the chain of tools is longer.
What to check before you say yes
Your main software. Does the maker say the new macOS is supported? Not "should work". Supported.
The plug-ins you cannot work without. Same question.
The diary. A deadline in the next fortnight means not now.
The backup. Is there one from today? Going back to the old macOS means wiping the Mac and restoring it. There is no undo button.
The sensible order
One Mac first, and not the busiest person's. A week of real work on it. Then the rest, a few at a time. Waiting for the first follow-up release is the old rule of thumb, and it is still a good one.
And do not wait for ever
Apple usually keeps fixing security holes in the current version and the two before it. One version behind is a comfortable place to be. Three behind is not.
Rather somebody else decided?
For the studios we manage, we hold the big upgrade back until the software they rely on is ready, then roll it out a few Macs at a time, and keep the security updates moving in the meantime. Talk to us, or see managed IT services.