The rise and grind mentality has lasted a while, but research shows it could be doing more damage than good.
The sun has just risen, it’s time to get up. Cram in that 5k run, down the green smoothie, grab your coffee on the go, while getting ready to tackle a day of work. Or should I say night too? Because who needs rest when the grind doesn’t stop?
Many, if not all of us have had restless nights where all we can think about is professional success. Most of us pull ‘all-nighters’ in the hopes of completing unfinished work. But are we just falling into the trap of hustle culture?
Hustle culture has become increasingly popular since 2018, it’s an ideology that glamorizes long working hours as the key to success, there’s an intense focus on productivity and ambition.
The narrative promotes the idea that there’s always more work to do. There’s more goals to achieve, more money to make, and a higher boundary to break. It’s a mindset that is praised and emphasised on social media, yet it leaves little to no time for rest, self-care, or reflection.
Although this notion seems like a vicious cycle of having to be constantly productive to succeed, it’s not all that bad.
The grind mindset is there to motivate, inspire individuals and encourages people to go above and beyond, to create a path for their future and take control.
The enthusiasm surrounding the idea is quite admirable but there’s no doubt that it is also unrealistic. We tend to forget that working hard doesn’t mean working non-stop.
Over 40% of people exhausted from working long hours
Study by Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence
Through famous advocates of hustle culture such as Elon Musk, encouraging people on social media to “work hard every hour” and if someone works 50 hours, you “should work 100”, it sets a standard that if you’re not working, you’re lazy. After all, this is an entrepreneurial tycoon giving you advice, so who wouldn’t take it seriously?
Let’s also not forget Love Island star Molly Mae’s comment about having the same 24 hours in a day. On a podcast, the 23-year-old expressed how everyone has the same amount of time in a day to create change. But of course, this is not true and the YouTuber’s comments sparked a huge online debate.
Despite “successful” entrepreneurs on social media glorifying the ideology, research shows hustle culture doesn’t necessarily work and an on-the-go mindset can lead to burn out and damage physical and mental health.
Putting work at the centre of life and prioritizing it over everything else, has led some people developing stress and social anxiety.
Over 40% of people feel exhausted, stressed or overwhelmed from working longer hours in the pursuit of success. Meanwhile 77% have experienced burnout, according to a study by Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence.
The mindset also enables the concept of toxic positivity. It eliminates realistic expectations of what we can attain in our work and personal lives, therefore any minor inconvenience becomes tragic.
Suddenly the belief that failure is an opportunity to grow is thrown out the window because if you’re not hustling, you’re failing.
Though this is a persuasive attitude to have in today’s society, maybe it is time to be more rationale. No one can work without breaks, at some point our brains need to relax and we need time out to reset. That’s not being lazy, it is just human nature.
77% of people experience burnout from work
Study by Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence
If you’re guilty of answering emails and calls at any hour of the day, feeling bad for having a moment to yourself or losing passion for life outside of work, it’s a sign that you might be stuck in the hustle culture.
After doing some research, here are some tips on healthy ways to include the hustle into your work life:
- Prioritise tasks – pinpoint the top priorities and get them done
- Manage your time – set deadlines, delegate jobs and minimise distractions.
- Take breaks – It can improve your productivity by refreshing the mind
- Be kind to yourself – it’s not the end of the world if you don’t meet a deadline or a goal, have faith that you will get there and you will.
While it is true that hard work needs to be put in to get to where you want to be, make the active decision of choosing an approach that will prioritize your mental and physical health too.
Yes, to some extent you do need to hustle to achieve but what good is achieved if you overwork yourself so much that you burn out?