I’m so ready for hustle culture to die.
[March 14, 2021, post by Tamara Rose Morales]
Ooops I did it — I made a ‘fuck you’ series and it’s actually been quite fun and liberating!
Now hustle culture is one of my favorite topics at BBB, even if you don’t know about it yet, and it’s because it’s perceived in such an ambivalent way.
But let’s take a look at the underlying definition first:
hus·tle
Verb
- force (someone) to move hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction.
“they hustled him into the back of a horse-drawn wagon”
Quite enlightening and interesting, isn’t it? So why would we want to be part of a work culture that forces us to move hurriedly and unceremoniously in a specific direction?
For many hustling hard is the ultimate aspirational lifestyle. Busting your ass from morning til night in the hopes of being rewarded with fat pay checks and becoming part of the big boys club.
Hustle culture means you’re proud of overworking, getting little sleep and not having a personal life. Hustle culture glorifies strength and demonizes weakness. Hustle culture doesn’t leave space for vulnerability, authenticity, nor community. Because when we’re hustling it’s all about the individual, being the best, making the cut, even if it’s at the expense of others.
Hustle culture cultivates work environments where substance abuse, mental health issues and burn out syndrome are the norm.
And guess what — Berlin can seem all hippie and laid back but hustle culture is quite common here nevertheless. You could be working at a big corporate HQ, a creative agency, a tech startup or even an NGO. You could be an artist, a teacher, a mom. You could be self employed and falling victim to your own self inflicted hustle culture.
In a way the pandemic was just what we needed to debunk the validity of hustle culture. No, it’s not normal to bust ourselves through hours of traffic and commuting when we can be just as good working from our home. At least now our employers are hearing the message loud and clear.
Still, many of us are continuing the hustle from home. In a setup where boundaries between work and personal life blur, we fall easily into a trap of overworking and always being available. And if we’re not privileged enough to have a separate and dedicated room to do our work, where we close the door behind us after 6.00 pm, our laptop and phone is always just a reach away to do some “quick work”.
Some more food for thought:
- Hustle culture doesn’t leave space for women and our flows of productivity and creativity that very often align with our menstrual cycle.
- Hustle culture tricks us into believing that we belong to the cool and worthy — as long as we perform as expected.
- Instead of feeding into a mindless hustle culture, focus on taking care of yourself. Your work can wait. Your health cannot.
The reason I wrote this post was to challenge anyone who’s proud of being a hustler. I don’t want to judge but I want to ask, what’s beneath this need to always be busy, productive and successful? And who are you if you stop hustling?
It’s not my place to tell anyone to stop working hard (and believe me I’ve been a victim of hustle culture myself in the past), but how ‘bout we explore our awareness of WHY we do it. Giving up on dreams and ambitions is not an option — however, being mindful of our approach to pursuing them should precede our dedication. A sustainable lifestyle is something we owe to ourselves and our well-being. And only if we take charge of our own lifestyle first, we can impact our communities and change our larger environment in the long run.
Leave your feedback in the comments x
