Hustle Culture: To be or not to be

When I hear 'Hustle', I hear loud honks, people in a rush, quick foot taps, clattering voices in a boardroom, and high-paced inspirational music.

But it also leaves me feeling restless and helpless. Should I be doing more? Why can't I achieve as much as them? Should I go over my working hours to complete tasks? And I finally got my answers.

Hustle Culture. A word that is often glorified and celebrated in today's time. But how well-suited is it to our well-being and mental health?

On the 5th of April, Nova Benefits hosted a wellness session to decipher Hustle Culture with Shivani Chauhan, a psychologist and REBT Practitioner with over three years of experience. She is an expert in aiding individuals with emotional, behavioural, relationship and motivational issues, identifying and disputing irrational beliefs.

Shivani asked us how often we think about work, whether we feel satisfied at the end of a day's work and if we feel guilty about not spending time with our friends and family. Unsurprisingly, most of us were unhappy and dissatisfied with our work.

Currently, Shivani leads a team of psychologists at Manah Wellness and helps progressive organisations create happier, stress-free and contented workplaces.

We idealise those who work tirelessly without a break and achieve great success, broadly known as Hustle Culture. It promotes the no pain, no gain theory. The culture more than often encourages working in silos and spending time by oneself, severely affecting our mental health.

For many of us, hustle culture equates to burnout culture, and it idolises hard work to the extent of exhaustion.

Now, let's understand why Hustle Culture is so appealing and aspiring to the majority of us. People have associated hustle culture with more time spent at work than measuring productivity and accomplishments. However, the measure of actual productivity and achievement is the quality of effectiveness of the person's work.

We redefine our success when we understand the true sense of 'Hustle'. Our brain is wired in a way that we are often left feeling the need to do more, be more. Our awareness and consciousness will keep us afloat in such monologues taking control over our Hustle mindset.

A quick few tricks to do our best at work yet not succumb to Hustle culture would be to:

Invest time and attention in things that we genuinely enjoy out of work.
Rest days and hobby time is essential and must be scheduled in sync with work.
Set clear goals and boundaries before getting into work so that our professional and personal lives can hold different spaces
Realise the energy spent on a workpiece rather than the time.
Focus on the output of quantity over the input of time.

Overcoming Hustle Culture and burnout is possible with collaborative efforts between the individuals and the organisation. Clear boundaries, effective communication, and trust within the linear and non-linear hierarchy would contribute to a healthy work-life balance.

Introspecting and looking into how you feel will always help you realise the need for a break. Allow yourself to sit with your emotions and avoid burnout. And we're here with wellness sessions to be at your best at all times.

Here's a quick look at our upcoming sessions: Nova Wellness Sessions