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Social change is to leave the old patterns of living, of the culture, of the ecosystem and adapting to the newness, a transition influenced either voluntarily or by external factors. People living in the society together create and develop the culture. For instance corporate culture is made by employees and the companies coming together, the culture of corporation; and it refers to a company's conventions, values, knowledge, and customs.
Hustle Culture
In today's fast-paced society, hustle culture is linked with success. The constant push to do more, achieve more quickly, and juggle various duties can leave people feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and estranged from their genuine selves. Hustle culture is a societal norm that believes success is only possible if you devote your life to work. In this culture, work is prioritised over health and personal life; and now it has converted into a lifestyle.
Causes for Hustle Culture
Following are some of the reasons for the growth in hustle culture –
1. Financial demands and economic pressures
2. Insecurities & fears – uncertainty, getting fired, not being seen
3. Poor self-worth leading to seek job promotions & high motivation to achieve higher
4. Family responsibilities and day to day living costs
5. Disadvantage of communication and internet technology resulting in extension of working hours
6. Presence of a powerful leader who triggers the vulnerabilities in the individual who isn’t comfortable to postpone the work or is holding on to insecurities
Consequences of Hustle Culture
Workaholism
The new lifestyle views success as the result of continual effort and minimal relaxation time. It stimulates the unconscious mind to keep working. Spence and Robbins (1992) define workaholism as the 'workaholic trinity,' which includes three characteristics: work involvement, a sense of obligation to work, and a love of the job.
'Workaholics' are people whose never-ending urge to work has impacted their health, personal fulfilment, interpersonal relationships, and social functioning. Workaholics will be perfectionists, experience higher levels of stress, and have more physical health difficulties.
Perfectionism
Individuals with the urge to be perfect and results-oriented personalities may unintentionally fall into the hustle culture category. People with a perfectionist attitude will always work hard to achieve their goals. These individuals believe that the longer the hours and the larger the task, the closer they will be to achieving the desired reward.
Toxic Productivity
With the pressures of life's requirements and high expectations, someone who has recently completed education is frequently imprisoned in a hustle culture. This hustle culture may be related to toxic productivity. It is a condition in which a person is constantly pressured by a leader to be productive, a leader who praises overtime and overwork, or a sense of having to be productive, as stated by the leader while observing highly competent coworkers.
Influence of Social Media on Hustle Culture
The competitive environment and an individualistic view of success based on production and personal accomplishments have all contributed to the growth of hustle culture, a compulsive lifestyle. Hustle culture has grown in popularity on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, with various hashtags and inspirational phrases. It emphasises the quest of success.
There are four major categories of content included in posts on hustle culture on social media:
1) The hustle and bustle – It describes activities that are done in addition to one's primary work like small enterprises, part-time occupations, or side projects for extra money.
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2) Achievements and Income – The promotion of hustle culture on social media frequently fails to address that not everyone has the same freedoms or options, contrary to popular debate about work-life balance versus high pay.
3) Lifestyle – Productivity, representing oneself in prestigious and glamorous positions, and quality of life and recognition evaluated via the facilities and experiences gained in the workplace are all indicators of success.
4) Motivation - The hustling culture is characterised by romanticising job exhaustion as a great achievement or a worthy fight to be celebrated in an energetic manner.
Addiction of Hustle Culture
There is something ingrained in the society that appreciates hard work and despises lazy behaviour. Individuals are revolted by taking it easy that we will go to the emergency room before taking a step back and questioning why we are pushing ourselves and each other to the point of weariness and burnout.
Dr. Gabor Maté describes this human compulsion to keep creating, climbing the corporate ladder, and becoming wealthy; which is actually an addiction all starting when we are young. That is imposed by a culture that prioritises specific things over individuals, as well as childhoods in which you do not feel accepted and respected unless you are industrious, successful, beautiful, and powerful.
Our society emphasises the importance of productivity, prosperity, and beauty, implying that one's life must always be in order. Subconscious messages surround all of us from an early age, seeping into our minds and reopening our inner scars of not feeling good enough, productive enough, or high-achieving enough. That motivates us to work hard in order to demonstrate our value.
Break free from Hustle Culture
The problem with hustle culture is that we've begun to praise working hard merely for the sake of it. We applaud exhaustion, deprivation, and sleeplessness. We train individuals to reject vital signs and cautions from their bodies that say, "Hey, maybe you should rest."
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Following are some of the ways to re-wire the brain and stop or slow down hustling:
Self-compassion
Self-compassion is the readiness to accept and forgive oneself for what has happened. A high amount of self-compassion can minimise the likelihood of psychological distress because the nature of self-compassion can reduce the influence of hustling culture on psychological pain.
Empowering the self-compassionate voice will assist the individual in working on self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and over-identification. Common humanity is the most influential sign in developing self-compassion, which fosters the belief that regular persons with deficiencies can relieve stress produced by pressure.
Slow Living
The widely held belief that hustling is necessary for success highlights the need for a shift in society's understanding of productivity. Faster does not always imply sustainability. Slow living is a philosophy, mindset, and lifestyle that focuses on creating opportunities in life to disengage and slow down. It might be a kind of resistance to society's fast-paced lifestyle expectations. To incorporate mindful living, one tries to be in the present moment, being more aware of here and now! It can be practiced through daily life activities like eating, brushing, walking, etc.
Work-life balance
The supervisor can handle job expectations, and employees can manage them as well. Supervisors can avoid workaholism by implementing regulations or policies, such as limiting access to email outside of working hours. Reward smart work rather than hard work. Actions that encourage workaholic behaviour (such as praise, reward schemes, and promotions) should be avoided. Make leaders, managers, and supervisors aware of the behaviours they model.
Seeking professional help
Professional assistance will help workaholics about their problematic behaviours. Many addicts are unaware that they display these behaviours. Working with the mental health professional, the individual will be able to address the self-beliefs, work on the patterns and unaddressed unhealed emotional experiences. Cognitive and behavioural therapies, such as REBT, help workaholics integrate professionally and socially. Motivational interviewing will assist the employee in bringing forth their own views about their potentially workaholic behaviour, allowing them to identify negative aspects of their behaviour and discuss the adjustments they wish to apply.
The mental health expert will help the individual's self-esteem increase by emphasising his or her strengths and positive attributes, as well as assisting them in dealing with unpleasant feelings. Professional training programs targeted at building individual psychological resources at work/self-regulation skills (active coping, resilience, awareness, emotional intelligence).
Conclusion
You must uncover your work story, and you must first determine what your body, brain, and soul require so that you may create a productive system that works for you. That is the only way. The procedure is slow, it is uncomfortable, you need to ask yourself difficult questions, you have to confront your ego and your desire for recognition and your professional identity – but it’s important!
Rocket Health India offers online therapy in a safe, judgment-free atmosphere to discuss difficulties relating to hustle culture. Certified therapists can assist you in reducing stress, developing healthy behaviours, and improving work-life balance. Online therapy with Rocket Health India is a step in the right direction, providing the tools and assistance required to make this transition.
“We have to be honest with ourselves, with how much time and energy we are able to invest into something.” – Juan
References
Casali, E. (2022). Disrupting Hustle Culture : An explorative research project addressing the question, “what does it mean to be productive?”. DIVA. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1663330&dswid=6675
Chairunnisah, N. A., & Kurnia, N. L. (2023). Hustle culture in Social Media: Exploring the imagined success in the modern era. Athena Journal of Social Culture and Society, 1(4), 180–191. https://doi.org/10.58905/athena.v1i4.151
Hasanah, U., Vardhani, N. K., & Martha, F. L. (2024). Examining the impact of hustle culture on South Korean workers. East Asian Review, 2(2), 143–158. https://doi.org/10.22146/ear.11902
Lemonada Media. (2022, May 25). Breaking Free from Hustle Culture | Lemonada Media. https://lemonadamedia.com/podcast/breaking-free-from-hustle-culture/
Taris, T. W., & De Jonge, J. (2023). Workaholism: taking stock and looking forward. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 11(1), 113–138. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-111821-035514
Yuningsih, N., Mardiana, N., Jima, H., & Prasetya, M. D. (2023). The Effect of Hustle Culture on Psychological Distress with Self Compassion as Moderating Variable. In Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research/Advances in social science, education and humanities research (pp. 1062–1073). https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-046-6_102
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