we’ve all had to conform to a capitalist society where our value is placed upon how much work we can do. in the past few years, ideas of working and “hustling” have become romanticized, and its seen as a way of working hard while we can in order to see the fruits of our labor later on. my question is, when is later on?
hustle culture is defined as a culture that encourages people to overwork themselves and it has impacted many of us, even unconsciously. in the media, we see idealized perspectives on work and how to maximize efficiency and always be busy. an adverse effect of this is that we as people will compare ourselves to those that are doing “more” than us. i find myself thinking “that person is wildly successful and they’re about my age. what am i doing wrong?” the hustle of others inspires an environment where we continuously compare our productivity levels and it makes us think we aren’t doing enough.
these ideas of overworking and hustling are fueled further by our society, because we must work to survive. the business model in a capitalist society wants to get as much out of employees and workers as possible, with the smallest cost. because of this, the hustle ideas infiltrate directly into our workplaces. for example, some offices have a board or banner maybe signifying who is doing exemplary work. it is showcased to everyone, and it may even list specifically how that person is “working better” than everyone else. in theory this gesture is congratulatory, and it is meant to show appreciation for those that do good work which it very well does. but it also is meant to show everyone else what they could be doing better. we are more utilizable in the workplace if we can maximize throughput and if we are more efficient. these ideas are constantly bashed into our brains and they can be incredibly damaging.
hustle culture negatively impacts mental health and health overall, and promotes a work-life imbalance. the laboring body is demanded to complete work in a capitalist society, and we are being encouraged to not notice these adverse effects. we are being encouraged to work harder. we are being encouraged to work ourselves to the point of exhaustion, and for what? why are we forcing ourselves to work? when will it ever be enough?
Source: https://www.sampoernauniversity.ac.id/hustle-culture-definition-impact-and-how-to-overcome-it/
Unruly Bodies 
Hi, I really enjoyed reading your post and hustle culture was a great topic to learn more about. I recently talked about hustle culture in another class in regards to how we process death and our perception of human life. I raised the question, ‘Would appreciating life with a less capitalist mentality where people aren’t concerned about their 9-5 and financial issues lead to a better general understanding of life’s fragility instead of the emphasis on working until you or a loved one dies to see the beauty of existence?’ Hustle culture desensitized the way we walk through the world with a fast paced mentality and always being busy. This leads to less time to process emotions and live in the present with a constant future outlook, always overlooking how they spend their time, who they talk to, or what they plan on doing. What you said about it never being enough is very prevalent because a lot of people have existential crisis or midlife crisis when they realize they spent all this time working and less simply enjoying the gift of being alive. It is harder to enjoy this gift because of the need to make money and live a good life but constantly striving for something that will possibly make you feel good leaves you running on a treadmill forever.
Hustle culture is often talked about in a positive light but in reality it negatively impacts so many people because they never get any down time. To me, it is similar in the way online working has impacting work place boundaries. We have email apps on our phones that give alerts to when anyone emails us asking about xyz. I regularly respond to those emails practically immediately even though I am not getting paid for that email. Normalizing never having any breaks can have a negative impact on your health.
Hello, I really enjoyed reading your post. Hustle culture really does have way too many negative effects on people. One of my friends/ coworkers is heavily effected by it. She chooses to work when she is not on the clock and to go in extra times and prioritize work over her schooling. All so that she can feel like she is not doing too little for the workplace. From what I know, she basically has very little time to focus on homework or projects due to this massive time commitment given to work and that causes her to stress over getting assignments done and keeping up with her studying.
Damn, hustle culture is super whack. What would our lives look like if we “hustle cultured” living as our best selves, without having to have financial or working stressors? Would we be a better society?
Personally, I think that some people live off of the hustle culture and do not know how to operate without that rigid structure. I would totally be fine with living off of the ocean, on a bench, like a hippy hahah. But just because I live that way, doesn’t mean that the other person would be able to do the same. In my life, I have always felt the best when I had multiple projects going on (school, work, life/relationships) but I always end up crashing at some point – hustling isn’t for me. I had to learn this the hard way throughout my early 20’s, and since then, I have taken a new approach to how I hustle. For me, hustling to be the healthiest – physically, mentally, and spiritually, does so much more for me than working 9-5+ hours and overtime. YMMV.