Is Hustle Culture Glorified Trauma?

 

IS HUSTLE CULTURE GLORIFIED TRAUMA?

Are you one of those people that has cringed at certain influencers telling you to pause, take a deep breath in and see the world around you? You know “take the air in,” “soak in nature,” “watch the clouds,” blah, blah, blah. But let me tell you something, these Gurus might have been right. 

Research has shown that slowing down occasionally might not do you so much harm. It in fact, might let you live, work, and connect better. However, in this fast-paced world of hustle culture, resting has become an obsolete and underrated concept. For those of you who don’t know what hustle culture is,

Hustle culture is described as a “common, modern workplace environment that emphasizes hard work and long hours as the key to success. It’s become increasingly popular recently, with many companies encouraging their employees to put in extra effort and work hours for better results.” (excerpt taken from Talkspace) 

 

 

Causes and Possible Solutions –

Now, the first thing to blame for this toxic work culture is social media. Trends like “Escape the Matrix,” and “Millionaire at 17,” has polluted the minds of people especially the Gen Z. Teens have begun to feel like they are not doing enough and stress out on how to manage their studies, sports and their newly started drop shipping business and if they fail to do it, they feel like a failure. This leads to over perfectionism and self-doubt. Teens burn themselves out in their crucial formative years and don’t have the motivation to work hard in their 20s when its actually needed. Social media influencers are selling a dream but rarely show the burnout behind it and Gen Z is especially vulnerable. Why is one expected to have a LinkedIn profile at 16?

(disclaimer – the intention is not to undermine anyone’s hard work and success)

(image credits: uk.pinterest.com)

Yes, everyone wants to be a millionaire, and no one wants to be stuck at a 9 to 5 job but there is a realistic and efficient way of doing this. Instead of lofty schedules with only 4 hours of quality sleep and no time for your family, one can allocate 6 to 12 hours a week for their side hustle and focus more on their main work till the side hustle shows real promise.

The extremists of this game can have adverse effects on not only their mental health but also their physical health. An excerpt from Talkspace’s article says, “Lack of sleep, poor diet choices, and more cause weakened immune systems. Some research shows that long work weeks increase the risk of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease.” Watching the clouds must be sounding really good to you right about now.

Also read: Why Hustle Culture Can Do More Harm Than Good to Your Mental Health? | Psychreg to learn more

Another cause of hustle culture is comparing oneself with the work of already established billionaires. Now, yes, real hard work and some sleepless nights is required in laying the solid foundations of your business organisation but how much is too much? Is there a limit? Yes. Do we push ourselves to that limit? Not necessarily. So exactly when are we supposed to stop?

The popular 80 – 20 rule can be a very useful parameter to know exactly how much to work and when to stop. A way of using this can be to do 80% of quality work and 20% of okay-ish work per day. I have personally found using the numbers 70-30 to be more helpful. If you’re a teen 60-40 aren’t imperfect numbers to take. These numbers can also be used by you as the larger number for quality work and the smaller number for quality rest.

(image credits: maherjaber.com)

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that many of the self-made billionaires are not self-made. These “self-made” billionaires had a lot more help than they admit—generational wealth, connections, or privilege.

 (image credits: teamblind.com)

 Comparing their step 100 to your step 1 is madness and doesn’t make sense at all. Furthermore, comparing your journey to theirs doesn’t make sense either. Not following what you see online does not make you a failure.

 

Now let’s come to the burning question – Is Hustle Culture Glorified Trauma?

Are people working till it becomes their end because they don’t want to end up like their providers who looked at price tags before buying them shoes or do they have crippling fear of failure? Did their parents constantly have high expectations from them or were they constantly burdened with responsibilities? Do they feel some sort of validation by working more than everyone else or does it stroke their ego and make them look better than others? Are they plunging themselves into so much work because they don’t want to deal with what’s underneath?

Are they chasing something they don’t know about or are they overworking to unlock some sort of hidden peace at the end?

                                                                                  

                                                                                            ~ Let Me Make You Wonder