The pursuit of more is omnipresent in our society, and hustle culture is a widespread phenomenon. Those who subscribe to it quickly find themselves in a state of self-exploitation – with serious physical and psychological consequences. This makes it all the more important to protect your own health and find sustainable ways to pursue personal and professional goals.
Hustle Culture
Hustle culture is becoming increasingly popular in our society. It is a culture that celebrates constant commitment and sees discipline as the key to success and a successful life. Those who subscribe to hustle culture commit themselves to a mentality of constant performance and dedication to work.
Those who hustle, i.e. work hard, achieve a lot and generate a lot of income, win. Whether it’s money, recognition or virtual approval in the form of likes and followers.
However, in order to maintain hustle mode, cuts must be made elsewhere. Basic needs such as sleep, rest and social contact quickly fade into the background. And at the top of the list of supposed distractions are unnecessary distractions. These include going to festivals and clubs, spending a lazy weekend on the sofa or spending time with friends who are not hustlers themselves.
Who benefits?
Hustle culture is fuelled by social media and neoliberal interests. Those who commit to hustle culture don’t work overtime because an exploitative boss forces them to, but because they are hustlers – and working hard is part of their personal mindset. This voluntary sacrifice plays into the hands of companies in two ways. On the one hand, more work leads to more profit, and on the other hand, workers are responsible for the overtime they work. Accordingly, the hustler mindset is celebrated and marketed on social media. Hustle culture not only creates a hard-working workforce, it can also be turned into profit. For example, in the form of online coaching or self-help books.
Permanent self-optimisation
Hustle culture is not limited to professional life. The trend towards self-optimisation has spread to all areas of life. In addition to working hard, people are expected to exercise rigorously and keep their bodies in top shape. Their diet should always be balanced and healthy. Their lives are tightly scheduled, from their morning skincare routine to their evening yoga routine. Added to this is personal development towards the ‘higher self’. Self-optimisation is an expression of the fact that we always perform at the highest level in our private lives and improve where we are not yet at our best. This can lead not only to us being under constant pressure, but also to us becoming increasingly alienated from ourselves.
The downside of constantly hustling
Being constantly productive takes its toll on your health in the long run. People who work non-stop often live in a state of constant tension, which leads to increased production of the stress hormone cortisol. Permanently elevated cortisol levels increase the risk of sleep problems, exhaustion, depression and burnout. In addition, chronic overwork can cause physical symptoms such as headaches, back pain or stomach problems.
Furthermore, a life devoted to perfection and iron discipline leaves less room for everyday pleasures such as spontaneous visits to friends, ‘just lying around’ or ‘stuffing yourself with cake until your stomach hurts’. And so you simply have less fun. However, fun experiences are important for regulating our nervous system. They trigger positive emotions that act as a natural counterbalance to stress and tension and can thus cushion depressive moods. Fun also allows the body to recover. In moments of laughter and enjoyment, cortisol levels drop and the nervous system and muscles enter a state of relaxation.
Study on burnout in Austria: https://www.gesundearbeit.at/gesundheit/psychische-belastungen/burn-out/burn-out
Healthy self-actualisation
Actively pursuing dreams, surpassing oneself, overcoming personal hurdles and developing one’s own potential are certainly worthwhile goals. Self-actualisation can increase inner satisfaction and lead to a life that meets one’s own needs. Simply enjoying working hard is also legitimate and can be fulfilling. Problems arise when self-realisation tips over into self-sacrifice and basic needs such as sleep, rest and social contact are consistently neglected.
It is important to remain mindful and to prioritise self-care, especially during busy periods at work. Be aware of your needs and give them space. In concrete terms, this means setting boundaries, taking breaks and clearly defining the separation between working hours and leisure time. This is essential, especially in today’s world, where working hours are becoming increasingly blurred due to home offices and constant availability. This goes hand in hand with the importance of saying no. Whether to your boss, your colleagues or yourself. Saying no not only protects your own resources – it also gives you the confidence that you are still in control during periods of intense work. It creates the confidence to be able to say stop when necessary – and that alone can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.
But even if you maintain a healthy work-life balance, hustle culture is not easy to shake off. The pressure to achieve more and more and to aim higher is omnipresent. To counteract this pressure, it is important to recognise it as such and to internalise it: you are enough in the here and now. This attitude creates calm and clarity for the question of what really drives you internally. Developing an awareness of one’s own needs and desires enables one to act out of inner passion – rather than external expectations, pressure to perform and the pursuit of perfection. This promotes a society of conscious development rather than one that functions according to the principle of ‘better, further, more’.
Translated by Anna Smith
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