The Toxicity of Hustle Culture

Hustle written in sand at dusk.

The global pandemic produced a lot of new anxieties—about health and safety, the future of our country, financial security, and many more. One that felt extra prominent in the digital space was job security. To help with that anxiety and insecurity, there was a big resurgence in hustle culture. Working from home, an abundance of free time, and nerves about job security meant pulling longer hours, going above and beyond, and even looking for opportunities to offer our services to other companies on a freelance basis.

And at first, that felt okay. It actually felt like a great idea! With all of this extra time we had at home while we sheltered in place, why not put that energy into being more productive?

But after many, many months of the same things, it becomes way more toxic than productive.

1. It wraps your identity up in your job title

When introducing yourself to someone new, often what you do for work comes up in the first few minutes of conversation, even in non-professional settings. As a culture, we’ve wrapped so much of our worth and our identities up in what we do to make money. The ultimate dream is to have a job you’re passionate about and love, but the fact of the matter is, your job doesn’t have to be your reason for being. In fact, if the global pandemic taught us anything about job security, it probably shouldn’t be.

Filling all of your extra time with checking off one more thing on your to do list, or furthering your career means you have less time to do the things that feed your soul: passion projects, extracurricular activities, spending time with family and friends, or even just going to therapy once a week. Losing a job is already daunting enough as it is, but when your whole identity is wrapped up in what you do for work, the loss of a job becomes much more devastating.

2. It puts unnecessary pressure on yourself and others

We’ve all had one coworker or boss who was notorious for sending emails in the wee hours of the morning, or staying in the office well after 5 p.m. Think back to what your image of that person’s work ethic was. Did you view them as high-achieving? Did you think they were the best at their job? Further, how did that make you feel about your own productivity? 

Not so great, right? Maybe you felt more pressure to stay an hour late, or bring your laptop home from work over the weekend. 

Or let’s turn it around to your own work ethic. It’s inevitable that we’ll go through cycles of feeling very motivated and excited about the work that we’re doing, then feeling tired and uninspired by a different project. Will the tired, uninspired you beat yourself up more, knowing you used to be able to get to work early and stay late, and feel excited to do it again? Are you holding yourself to too high of a standard?

It can create a toxic work environment to focus so heavily on the hustle. Do your coworkers and yourself a favor, and give yourself a break.

2. It burns you out—fast

Moving that fast all the time with no breaks to rest and relax will lead to one thing: burnout. You’re entitled to have time for yourself! When you’re hustling, you begin ignoring your body’s natural cues: maybe you skip lunch because you forgot about it, or you’re rushing to the bathroom between back-to-back meetings because you keep forgetting you’re human. You don’t need to be a hero. If you’re running yourself ragged, you’re no help to your company anyway. You’re entitled to your own personal time, and you deserve to relax and take care of yourself. 

4. It won’t benefit you the way you think it will

There’s an understanding that hustling at your job will mean you’re the first person they think of when promotions or raises are available. And to be fair, that can happen, but don’t assume that because you’re working your a** off for your boss that they’re sure to give you a raise and promotion. It’s something you’ll have to find a balance for. Ask yourself why. Are you hustling for your company because you know it’s what you need to do to stay afloat? Or are you hustling because you’re banking on a raise in a month or so? If it’s beginning to impact your mental health or your ability to do things that bring you joy, maybe it’s time to take a step back.

Stop hustling

So, hustling is sometimes inevitable—when you’re working under a tight deadline, or you’re trying to round out a quarter well. But if that hustle doesn’t have an end date, or if you’re hyperfocusing on productivity, it could be producing more harm than good for yourself and others. Take a step back and really ask yourself why you’re hustling. If it’s becoming negative in any way, it’s time to set some boundaries with work.
// Photo by Ashley Whitlatch