De-influencing Hustle Culture

The term "Hustle Porn" has been around for a while - at least since 2018. It describes the fetishization of long working hours and is often used in articles that actively condemn overworking.  

These discussions about work/life balance and sustainable working practices seem to be easier said than done given the continued prevalence of overworking.

It’s incredibly pervasive

• 67% of Americans own a small business, perform a side hustle or do freelance work with an additional 17% with plans to do so in the future (Pinger)

• 46% started a side hustle to earn passive income (Zapier)

• The U.S. market for gigs and side hustles is worth at least $2.58 trillion (Market Research)

• 7.5 million workers (~5% of the labor force) are working more than one job (University of Connecticut)

• 36% of remote tech workers have two full-time jobs ie. “overemployed” (Vaco)

And yet, when asked if having a work-life balance contributes to your happiness at work, 96% say yes (Zapier).

We've been spoon-fed this belief that we should hustle 24/7. That sleep and rest are for the weak. That we need to always be on the grind to achieve success.

The narrative is broken

🧠 Negative Impact on Mental Health - It promotes constant productivity and ambition with little regard for rest or self-care. The relentless pursuit of “success” takes a toll.

⚖️ Lack of Work-Life Balance - Hustle culture often neglects other important aspects of life like relationships, hobbies, and personal growth. The lack of balance is unsustainable.

😩 Physical Exhaustion and Burnout - Working excessively long hours can lead to physical exhaustion, fatigue, and a higher risk of burnout. Studies show that productivity drops significantly after working 55 hours per week, and the risk of work-related burnout doubles after 60 hours.

🚩 Toxic Productivity and Unrealistic Expectations - It fosters the belief that one must constantly be productive to succeed, leading to toxic productivity and unrealistic expectations.

🏆️ Glorification of Overworking - By glamorizing and holding up overworked individuals as role models, hustle culture perpetuates a dangerous mindset, especially among leaders who may not realize the damaging effects on their teams.

None of this is actually news to any readers, I’m sure. So how can we break the cycle?

Dismantling hustle culture

🚒 Challenge the Glorification of Overwork - Stop celebrating and holding up overworked individuals as role models. “Firefighting” and “Grind” culture perpetuate the dangerous mindset that reactivity and long hours are more valuable than proactivity and sustainability.

🌳 Redefine Productivity - The view that something is productive only when there is output is narrow. Working smarter rather than harder and advancements in GenAI doesn’t mean opening up time to jam in more outputs. It means generating space for creativity, growth, passions, and rest.

⚖️ Promote Work-Life Balance - Companies and leaders need to actively encourage employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This includes policies like reasonable working hours, ample paid time off, MINIMUM time off (not unlimited - this is a whole other topic), and discouraging after-hours communication.

🌟 Lead by Example - Leaders have to model sustainable work habits themselves; visibly taking breaks, delegating tasks, and not glorifying burnout. Unspoken social contracts are powerful - don’t set the wrong tone.

🤑 Decouple Identity from Income - Try to dissociate your value from what you get paid. When you meet someone new, separate asking what they do from how they pay their bills. Bet you’ll get a more interesting answer.

If you wanna grind it out, all the power to ya but my goal is to work as little as possible and actually live my life. Work to live and not live to work, right?✌️