At this point, everyone has likely heard of or is even abiding by hustle culture. Thanks to social media figures like Elon Musk and other motivational speakers, it has become a prevalent mindset. They describe hustle culture as the secret to their success, and invite others to follow this too.
However, what these motivational speakers don’t mention to their audience is that hustle culture is toxic. Following this mindset can lead to several issues that can severely hamper your productivity, such as burnout and stress.
What are the detrimental effects of following hustle culture? Here are five reasons why following hustle culture is toxic:
Blindly Following Hustle Culture Leads to Burnout.
One of the most evident detrimental effects of following hustle culture is that hustle culture causes burnout. Burnout is a severe stress condition that leads to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.
Working at one hundred percent, sometimes beyond that, every day without rest severely taxes your mind and body. After all, a day without working is a day wasted, right? However, when your body reaches its limit, you’ll experience a significant drop in productivity… or worse.
Burnout makes you vulnerable to heart disease, anxiety, depression, and difficulty breathing. How will you enjoy the fruits of your labor if you destroy your body in the process?
This idea of sacrificing your health in pursuit of your career goals is one of the reasons why following hustle culture is toxic. Following this mindset in the long run can also diminish your work quality, which is counterproductive to your goals.
Hustle Culture Causes Anxiety.
One of the most common psychological effects of hustle culture is anxiety.
A common way motivational speakers supporting hustle culture entices their audience to follow this mindset is by showing their achievements to them. They then follow it up by saying they achieved these all through hard work and dedication alone.
But the thing is, it’s not as simple as that. These influencers don’t mention that they had financial safety nets and other advantages that the average Filipino worker doesn’t usually have.
Now, combine this with how following hustle culture causes burnout, and you’ve got a recipe for anxiety. If hard work and dedication are all you need, why are many hard workers in society not driving sports cars or have large houses?
In addition, seeing others work longer hours than you can make you anxious that you’re not working hard enough. Thus, you’ll push yourself to work harder despite already doing more than enough, which leads to quickly burning yourself out.
You’ll Never Be Truly Satisfied When Following Hustle Culture.
Part of following the mindset of hustle culture is the idea that the grind never stops. Besides spending more time at work, it also means constantly aiming for higher and higher goals. After you achieve one goal, you move on to the next, and so on and so forth.
Although it sounds good, this way of thinking could become problematic if it becomes an obsession. Chasing goal after goal is exhausting and constantly makes you feel unsatisfied. This dissatisfaction can lead to pessimism and depression as the mental strain of the grind gets to you.
Blindly Following This Mindset Can Ruin Your Work-Life Balance.
One of the main reasons why Filipinos follow hustle culture is because they want to provide a better life for their loved ones. They work hard so that their children can have a better future while they can finally rest and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Unfortunately, doing this entails sacrificing your chance to be with your family today for a better tomorrow. This could damage your relationships with your families, as they might think you’re putting your work before them.
Another aspect of your life that can suffer is your hobbies. Focusing too much on work leaves you with no time nor energy to do the things you like anymore. This can lower your creativity and motivation, as you’re constantly too stressed and tired.
Every Day I’m Hustling…
Hustle culture is a prevalent mindset advertised to workers on social media. For its followers, it’s one of the reasons why they’ve been successful in their careers.
What they don’t tell you is that following hustle culture is toxic. Done wrong, it can lead to you sacrificing your health, personal life, and time for something that may or may not even reward you well. Ask yourself: “Is putting aside the things that matter to you for your career truly worth it?”
If your answer is no, yet you’re still looking for remote job opportunities that can provide you with a healthier work-life balance, Remote Staff has you covered. Just head to our jobs list to see the various online jobs you can apply for. Good luck!
