HUSTLE CULTURE

Hustle Culture

Hustle culture is a work environment that prioritizes productivity, ambition, and success over work-life balance, rest, and self-care. It's often characterized by long hours, a lack of boundaries between work and personal life, and a constant focus on productivity.

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Beliefs
Success is directly proportional to the amount of hard work one puts in

Signs
Long hours, blurred lines between work and personal life, high levels of stress and anxiety, pressure to always be available

Effects
Mental health concerns like increased anxiety, stress, and depression, burnout, decreased productivity

Some ways to cultivate healthy habits and escape hustle culture include: Prioritizing self-care, Finding trusted colleagues and good mentors, Not letting electronics overpower your life, and Maintaining positive relationships.

Hustle culture is when a workplace environment places an intense focus on productivity, ambition, and success, with little regard for rest, self care, or any sense of work-life balance.

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Give "hustle culture"​ a fair shot

We all know the reasons why hustle culture is toxic. In fact, you’ve probably posted about it or “liked” a post about it. Consider suspending your judgment for just a moment. 

Let’s start by defining “hustle culture” because there is not really a clear consensus about what it is (and is not). 

The first definition that pops up for me on Google is from Better Up and reads: “Hustle culture, also known as burnout culture, centers around the idea that working long hours and sacrificing self-care are required in order to succeed. The promise is that if you give work all of your attention, you can achieve anything and everything.” 

This definition does not fit. 

​The predominant ethos has already adopted self-care as a prerequisite for sustainable work. You should be practicing self-care. Hustling and taking care of oneself are not mutually exclusive. To settle on the position that individuals who hustle must sacrifice their self-care is a perfect example of the logical fallacy, false dichotomy. Hustling, while not taking care of oneself, is called masochism. Don’t get it twisted. 

The second part of the above definition states, “if you give work all of your attention, you can achieve anything and everything.” Extremism appeals to the reader. I know that giving all my attention to basketball will not lead to an NBA deal. The conclusion is that hustle culture can’t deliver and is therefore misguided. It’s a second false dilemma in one definition. 

My definition of hustle culture: The degree to which one works is contextual and often shares a relationship to fulfillment and opportunity. 

Context matters when considering most things in life, including hustle culture. Everyone’s circumstances are different. Reasons exist for its toxicity. But other reasons simultaneously exist to support it. I have spent time in jobs that range from little hustle culture to a lot of it. There must be a healthy balance. There are also seasons of life that require more hustle than others. 

I’m no epidemiologist, but there is something else in the air. Findings from a recent study are revealed in the title: The paradox of wealthy nations’ low adolescent life satisfaction (Rudolf & Bethmann, 2022). While “life satisfaction” and “burnout” are separate constructs, many kids seem to be “burned out” before they even enter the workforce. What does this mean for hustle culture? The pendulum swings the other way to job apathy.  It’s empirical—not just in the literature, but in the public arena.

“Meaning of work” (a term from the literature) predicts job pride, which shares relationships with turnover intentions (Le, Hancer, Chaulagain, & Pham, 2022). Taking pride in one’s work will impact a sense of subjective well-being and fulfillment. Perhaps some individuals simply don’t like hustling at work because they don’t like what they do. Meaning and identity are extracted from work and worn on our sleeves. In other words, “What do you do?” is often the second question people ask after one’s name. What would happen if we were forced to answer the question “How hard do you work?” rather than, “What do you do?” It is a more equitable question between two people from different socioeconomic statuses. Should we not find value in the degree to which we work? Work output is a stewardship issue and a time issue. 

Nearly twelve years ago, a brain tumor was found inside my daughter’s head. She had many surgeries to remove parts of the tumor and to redirect cerebral spinal fluid. After fighting the cancer, she died just prior to her fourth birthday.  Following one of her surgeries, she was left paralyzed on her right side. With limited mobility, she lived a fulfilled life despite her limitations. I use her example as a springboard to think about all your abilities and talents. How are you stewarding your time to use your resources? You may not be paralyzed on one side of your body, maybe it is another physical, mental, or emotional limitation. Maybe you are relatively free from limitations. A spirit of gratitude for our strengths goes a long way here. I’d like to think that my daughter hustled, not at work but to make the most of the limited time she had on earth. 

I tried to stay away from conjecture in this article, but it is going to come out here. I am from the United States of America. We are getting soft in a lot of areas. Hustle culture has been reified using negative connotations, logical fallacies, and unrealistic expectations. The term can still be reclaimed. Pit your job against someone else’s job at a different time in history. Your conditions are markedly better. So, enjoy your version of hustle with some perspective in this modern age. 

It is another false dichotomy to remark that without hustle culture, we’d all be lazy. In the absence of hustle culture many alternative variables exist. Use a definition of hustle culture with negative connotations if you must, but it doesn’t serve us well because “hustle” becomes a misnomer. Hustle is part of work. The unhealthy aspects of hustle amount to work-related masochism. You don’t need to carry shame for hustling at work. 

References
Le, L. H., Hancer, M., Chaulagain, S., & Pham, P. (2023). Reducing hotel employee turnover intention by promoting pride in job and meaning of work: A cross-cultural perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 109, 103409. 
Miles, M. (2022). The problems with hustle culture—and how it’s tied to mental health. Retrieved on January 31, 2023 at https://www.betterup.com/blog/hustle-culture. 
Rudolf, R., & Bethmann, D. (2022). The paradox of wealthy nations’ low adolescent life satisfaction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-27. 

What are the three rules of hustle?

The hustle lifestyle has three rules. Number one always be the hardest worker in the room, number two never be the smartest/most talented/experienced in the room and rule three elevate the level of everyone in the room.

What are the symptoms of hustle culture?

Signs of hustle culture in your workplace

• Long hours and little rest.
• Blurred lines between work and personal life.
• High levels of stress and anxiety.
• Pressure to always be available.
• Rewards for overwork and competitiveness.
• Lack of work-life balance.
• Limited acknowledgment of rest and recovery.
• Constant focus on productivity.

What is another name for hustle culture?

Hustle culture—today known as grind culture, burnout culture, or even toxic culture—refers to the mentality that one must work all day, every day in pursuit of one's professional goals.

What is a hustler's mentality?

It's a commitment to get ahead, no matter what and to never give up when faced with insurmountable challenges. It's a resourcefulness and creativity in finding new methods of success.