Till Hustle Do Us Part
Written by: Nida Khan
From Burnout to Balance: How to Navigate Through Hustle Culture
Hustle culture and the grind mentality have dominated the personal and professional forefront for decades, but recently, there has been a noticeable shift in the work-life balance ideology. More and more people are gravitating toward a more sustainable and healthier way of living. People are starting to ask the right questions: Is it worth it? How much is enough to sustain a healthy, satisfied life? What do I want?
I write this as I sip a hot cup of tea, dim sunlight oozing through my window, imaginary birds chirping in my head (because it’s the dead of winter here in Toronto). Just the simple act of sitting down without distractions to write peacefully is a rebellion against a culture that enslaves you with its ultimate judgment: hustle or die. Not to be dramatic here, but that is the underlying theme of the past decades. This hustle culture dominance has opened a Pandora’s box of deadly outcomes—burnout, declining mental health, and year-round dissatisfaction and gnawing toxicity.
History of the Hustle
Hustle comes from the seventeenth-century Dutch word husselen, which means “to shake or toss.” Toward the eighteenth century, it also meant “to push or knock a person about roughly” or “to move quickly.” Around these times, hustle took on extremely negative associations such as short-cut moneymaking schemes or prostitution. In the 1990s, hustling was considered slightly positive as something that people were “supposed to do,” according to Lester K. Spence, a political science and African Studies professor at Johns Hopkins University. It defined a hard worker, trying to make an honest living. This gained popularity in the Black communities. “The head of the family works at two jobs, and occasionally at three. Such supplementary work… is known as ‘a hustle,’” scholar C. Eric Lincoln wrote in a 1964 Times article. The term “side hustle” also appeared in a Black newspaper in the 1950s.
By the 2000s, “hustle culture” had arrived in all its glory. Erin Griffith, in The Times, described it as “obsessed with striving, relentlessly positive, devoid of humor, and impossible to escape.”
It makes you wonder how a word with such serious negative connotations has come to dictate our lives. Some would say we had it coming.
Hustle Culture and World Domination
Sounds like a plot for a dystopian novel. Experts believe the hustle culture narrative gained momentum in the 1990s and early 2000s. Silicon Valley companies like Google and Facebook dominated the landscape with their unrelenting thirst for success perpetuated by the ideal worker myth, a culture where work is life and nothing else matters. Harvard Business Review explains the ideal workers as people who “…must choose, again and again, to prioritize their jobs ahead of other parts of their lives: their role as parents (actual or anticipated), their personal needs, and even their health.”
Nick Srnicek, a digital economy lecturer at King’s College London, says, “Hustle culture ideology says that people are overworking not because they’re economically driven to, but simply because this is the way go-getters get what they want.”
Go-getters gained the awe and admiration of their peers as people who get what they want through tireless work and twenty-four-hour availability. Simply put, if you snooze, you lose. A sociology and social policy professor at the University of Kent states that “People adhered to the idea that you must devote yourself only to work and sacrifice everything outside of it.”
Internet, email, and smartphones triggered the onset of unrealistic expectations from employers. People were reachable anywhere at any time. Social media added to the mix of toxicity and burnout by increasing toxic comparison and dissatisfaction. LinkedIn, Twitter (now X), Instagram, and TikTok led to the explosion of the hustle culture, according to Dannielle Haig, DH Consulting’s principal psychologist. Hustle culture has led people to feel like they aren’t doing enough at work, at home, in their social lives, and so on. Squeezing in too much in too little time has become not just the cool thing but expected. Multitasking has become the holy grail, which means your brain never completely shuts down or focuses.
Hustle culture has now permeated other parts of our lives, like dating and relationships. Success is attractive, but not when it comes at the expense of trust, loyalty, and connection. Couples or partners who are consumed by work have little to no time for each other.
The relentless pursuit of more has left people exhausted and disillusioned by the end of the day. Yet, every morning, they are back at the starting line with the latest health-fad smoothie in hand, meeting alerts popping up, and the promise of a long, productive day ahead.
It is imperative to reflect on the emotional and physical consequences of this culture and the need for a cultural shift toward a healthier, more sustainable approach to work and success.
Post-Pandemic Shift in the Hustle and Grind Culture
The pandemic shook us to our physical core and forced many to reflect on what really matters. With that reflection came the realization that a healthy work-life balance is essential to living a wholesome, meaningful life.
In a FlexJobshttps://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/work-life-balance-or-better-pay-two-thirds-choose-balance 2022 Career Pulse Survey, 63 percent of the people chose a better “work-life balance over better pay.” In the United Kingdom, nine thousand workers felt the same in a 2021 survey. The global sentiment is gradually shifting, and people are making intentional life choices rather than following the chaotic beat of corporate feudal lords. People are calling out toxic workplaces and unimpressed bosses who are never pleased.
It’s not just about the arduous work hours. Employees are also seeking healthy workplace environments where their bosses are accessible and open to dialogue. They expect recognition, empathy, and access to health and wellness resources.
Remote work gained popularity, and strict 9–5 working hours saw a decline in many organizations across the globe. Ioana Lupu, associate professor of accounting and management at Paris’s ESSEC Business School states that before remote and hybrid work became a thing, people drew distinct boundaries between personal and professional lives. During the pandemic, workers stopped segmenting work and home life. Lupu says that employees have started to embrace a work-life integration that acknowledges the two are interspersed and that they need to strive to maintain a healthy relationship between the two. Workers want flexibility that enables them to blend work hours and personal life.
Are All Who Hustle Lost?
As much as I want to throw hustle culture under the bus, there are some undeniable pros. We’ve witnessed tremendous growth and progress. This work ethic promotes accountability, productivity, and undivided focus toward work. This culture rejects complacency and encourages people to set high standards for themselves.
However, it’s not as black and white as it looks. Wherever there is a stark imbalance, there is chaos. The word “hustle” has many personas, from “pushing someone roughly” to being a “hard worker” to the ideal worker who works 24/7. There’s no going back or denying the downside of this work philosophy, but there is a way to counter the unrest and stress caused.
Redefining Success and Happiness
As idealistic as I am, I know that money matters. My twenty-year-old self might not have agreed. But two decades later, I know better. However, the much-coveted B-word keeps coming to mind. Balance. Balance is key. You are allowed to want money to sustain a living. You are allowed to dream big and strive. Yet, there has to be a limit to the “more” culture. There is no end to consumerism. Social media feeds will always plaster the faces of people who are doing better than us. At least, they’ll do a better job of showing their good side only. No one has the answer to this. Some may find refuge in faith and spirituality and use those as benchmarks to success. Some may seek solace in a laidback lifestyle away from the city hustle. Some may choose to stay in the race, no matter what. While there is no single magic potion for this issue, there are ways we can manage work stress and incorporate ways to lead healthier and happier lives.
With the AI boom and the inevitable talk of robots taking over the world, many people are understanding the importance of human connections that foster healthy relationships at home, work, and beyond. It is also interesting to note the role of Gen Z in shunning the stereotypical concept of hustle culture. Gen Z workers and entrepreneurs wear multiple hats, run their side hustles, travel, and have unique hobbies and passions. According to an article by CNBC, “Microsoft’s data shows 91% of Gen Z entrepreneurs work unconventional hours; 81% say they work on vacation, compared to 62% of business owners overall.” In 2022, USA’s Great Resignation saw more than fifty million people quitting their jobs. Half of the Millennial and Gen Z workers who quit blamed a lack of work-life balance or inflexibility.
Whether it’s quitting toxic workplaces, carving boundaries in relationships, taking up hobbies, or practicing daily gratitude to circumnavigate the treachery of modern greed and inadequacy, one thing is for sure. We all need to reassess and reflect on our paths as homemakers, entrepreneurs, writers, artists, and collective people of the global world. It’s time to step back and revisit success through paths less traveled and strive for success that centers more on inner peace and contentment. 
TrooRa Magazine
Written by
Nida Khan
City, Country
