What is Hustle Culture?

Hustle culture as a lifestyle is synonymous to beast mode in the corporate world. Hustle in itself is an attribute of a person who does not stop. 

By today’s standards, overworking to the point of it becoming a lifestyle is what hustle culture is defined as. There isn’t a single day in your life when you aren’t pushing yourself to your limits – leaving little time for your personal life. Overworking has been modernised into what we now call hustle culture by numerous self-help books on bookstore shelves, social media, and even prominent entrepreneurs throughout the years.

Modern hustle culture is toxic and extremely misleading. It has made taking a break from work look like a sin and being busy has been ticked right.

In its essence, hustle culture implies continuous effort. It entails working as much as possible throughout the day—hustling. At work, there is no such thing as a timeout or a time in. Other names for it include grind culture. Stuff is done in the office, outside the office, at home, in coffee shops–anywhere while you’re on the grind. Working on the go is quite possible in a world that is continuously on the move and equipped with the means to do so.

And it’s a way of thinking, a philosophy, and a way of life that many people, both individuals and businesses, have adopted. When it comes to hustle culture, the more you work, the more valued you become.

It doesn’t matter if you skip meals, sleep, or other crucial events. Taking a pause is frowned upon in the hustle culture. Your brain is conditioned to remain active at all times and to churn out idea after idea after concept.

Hustle culture is widespread in many organisations, and it’s becoming increasingly popular and a benchmark for excellent practice. But, once again, it isn’t quite as good as it is portrayed.

Why is The Hustle Culture Backfiring?

There’s a brewing backlash against the hustle culture.  

We were never made to perform back-to-back calls, write, research, collaborate, and manage people while sitting in front of a computer screen. That is simply not how our brain functions.

When it comes to pursuing their own success, many young people look to books, social media platforms, and entrepreneurs for inspiration. As a society that strives to achieve its goals, it’s unsurprising to see people succumb to the hustle culture, in which there is no distinction between overworking and success.

Glorifying overworking is one of the reasons hustle culture is toxic. This way of life teaches people that the only way to achieve respect, whether from others or from yourself, is to work too hard. You don’t have what it takes to be successful if you aren’t spending every available minute of your day into something constructive. Are you even working if you aren’t working overtime?

During The Great Resignation of 2021, people opted out of their overburdened corporate life, highlighting the growing dissatisfaction and unease in the hustlers club. The world saw a quiet revolt against a society that did not value work-life balance and believed that if you snooze, you lose, as well as other workaholic mantras that praised the cult of overwork.

The industrialization of time and energy made everyone feel as though they had to sell themselves all of the time. As a result of social media, competition became even fiercer as everyone felt that no matter who we are or what we do, we are never enough.

What is hustle culture doing at workplaces?

Employees develop an unhealthy sense of competition as a result of hustle culture. While good rivalry can encourage employees to accomplish better, if they are taught that hustling is the only way to get promoted and better opportunities, healthy competition will devolve into fierce rivalries, with everyone striving to hustle harder than the others in order to knock others down. The company’s overall productivity may be hindered as a result of this culture.

Hustle culture encourages people to do as many activities as they can, regardless of the quality of the job they produce. Many additional studies have shown that working long hours has a negative impact on productivity and creativity, particularly in the long run.

There’s a reason why the hustle culture has been replaced by #ungrind. The Great Resignation of 2021 is a result of revolution in employee expectations. 

To dispel a common myth, the vast majority of those drumming up hustle culture are not the ones doing the actual job.

The hustle attitude that comes from the top is grim and exploitative.

After the pandemic-ravaged year 2021, we look to 2022 to be more aware and avoid the traps of hustle culture. People are setting new standards for life choices as a result of the pandemic. The world, which was previously moving at a breakneck speed, is now slowing down. 

If you’ve succumbed to the hustle culture, you’ve bought into the notion that being “always-on” is cool. Burnout has been proven to limit your career and harm your emotional and physical health, thus experts warn against this sort of life.

The present trend is moving away from the allure of overwork and drudgery. The viewpoint is altering. Those that support the anti-hustle movement are looking for new ways to live and work in order to be happier in the future.

Why is Hustle Culture Impacting Millennials Majorly?

When it comes to the workplace, the younger ones have long been regarded as peculiar. Baby boomers, or those born between 1942 and 1964, entered the workforce at a time when it was fashionable to ditch the traditional suit and headwear in favour of bright colours and fuller hairstyles. 

By contrast, millennials were the first generation to grow up with access to the internet. Experts speculated that because they entered the job market during the Great Recession, the era of a lifelong career with only a few organisations was over. They claimed that young people would hop from career to career.

There have been a slew of research papers written over the years about how to cope with this new, strange, and wild species of employee.

One common objective found in all millennials is that they don’t just want to punch a clock; they want employment that gives them significance and identity. This is due to the shift in educational technique, which instilled in children the belief that they possessed unique abilities to contribute to the world and encouraged them to seek out opportunities to do so.

Taking A Break From Work To Breakout from Burnout 

We have established that the hustle culture is toxic, as it determines worth solely by how much labour they put in, instead of basing it on how much effort people put in. It’s important to strike a balance between work and recreation, how to break out from the burnout of hustle culture?

1.Schedule and Work Smartly

The best strategy is to not simply log as many hours as possible. Smart work is the way to go. Consider completing a task in three hours rather than six. You’ll have more time to double-check before moving on to another activity. Avoid mindless effort because it will not benefit you. 

Efficiency, not overworking, is the stepping stone to success. Use the saved up time to do activities that make you lively. 

2.Focus On Personal Goals Rather than Deadlines

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustling and forget to set aside time to pursue your personal ambitions. If you continue down the path of overworking or hustling, you’ll never know when to return to your interests, and you’ll risk losing them altogether. And how many of us have refused to meet important people in our lives because we claim we don’t have enough time? I’m sure you have!

You just be able to set aside time for your own self-care, keeping up with your hobbies, and keeping in touch with friends and family. Find things you enjoy doing that have nothing to do with your job or school, and indulge in them once in a while.

3.Live By The Work-Life Balance Mantra

A creative mind is one that is fresh. Constantly working, on the other hand, leads to boredom and monotony. So try taking a break from work and make the most of your after hours or vacations by spending it with family, volunteering for a good cause, pursuing or discovering a new activity, or travelling to a beautiful location. Anything but discussing business or stressing over work. When you return to work, your mind will have rested and recharged, and you’ll be armed with new and innovative ideas you wouldn’t have come up with otherwise. Creativity is also beneficial to the organisation because it promotes development and growth. As a result, the more inventive employees are, the better.

4.Draw A Line Between Overworking and Productivity

We have to stop and think about whether we’re hustling’ for the clear reasons every now and then.

Often, our hustling and overworking effort is motivated by the short-term compliments we receive from friends, lecturers, and coworkers who may not be aware of what’s going on behind closed doors. That’s why it’s critical to take a step back, assess the situation, and avoid glorifying the hustling culture excessively. Instead, take a step back and rethink what you’re doing.