You are sitting on your bed scrolling through YouTube and suddenly come across a video of a famous CEO saying that they only slept 4 hours a day, ate 1 meal a day, forgot their anniversary, and got ignored by friends to build their empire. Then you, who planned to spend your Sunday lying in bed, started feeling anxious, and you suddenly remembered that you have a presentation due on Tuesday. Well, at least the mood on Sunday is ruined.
What is Hustle Culture, and how did it become so popular?
The main Ideology behind hustle culture is that no matter what you achieve, there is always something more to strive for, like more money, a bigger empire, a powerful status, etc. The rise of entrepreneurship in the late 1900s and early 2000s became the foundation for the grid and rise culture. With new companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon, and eBay, the culture of continuous working became an inspiring model for the youth; however, the Hustle culture started becoming popular in the late 2010s, with social media playing an important role in pushing this narrative among the younger population.
Even though the life of the current generation is much more productive as compared to older generations due to advancements in technology, the average working hours of the current generation are similar to people in the 1900s and back. The major reason behind this could be the unequal division of these advancements. One reason behind the extreme hustle culture today is the increasing wealth inequality gap.
The era of the 1950s had a strong middle class that could afford a basic living; however, today the inflation, the lifestyle changes have led to a bigger gap between income and expenses. Today, the youth, especially Gen Z, have to hustle to afford a basic lifestyle. Some of the youth hustle because they want to get rich, while the majority are forced to hustle to survive.
But Gen Zs get affected by anything
In India, an average BTech student bags a job by the age of 22 and then begins the cycle of being suck up in 9 to 5 job, 40 hours a week work, pressure to look jacked, earn more, have a house and from most of the gurus of social media, the pressure to do something exceptional like a startup. Along with the hustle to achieve all this comes burnout.
As per a 2024 report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the average of 48 per cent of workers from eight countries state that they are currently experiencing burnout. The findings are based on a survey of 11,000 desk-based and frontline workers in eight countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, and the US. A similar narrative goes for other jobs – doctors, paramedical staff, nurses, teachers, professors and even counsellors. The real issue starts when the younger generation starts experiencing this from an early age.
In India, hard work and a busy lifestyle are seen as a badge of honour. Older generations across the world often take pride in calling themselves hustlers who didn’t have time for their friends and family. This early exposure and expectations to hustle often lead to burnout, affecting mental health as well as physical health.
How can one be burned out at an early age? They’re just faking it
Gen Zs have seen the side-effects of hustle culture firsthand, frequent burnout, compromised health and personal lives, stressful situations, etc and have suffered side-effects, neglecting parents, lonely childhood, over expectations, constant comparison, etc. Many of them have even hustled in their childhood continuous coaching classes for different subjects, extracurricular activities, homework from school classes for extracurricular activities, projects, assignments, certificate programs, etc.
Many parents, in hopes of making their children extraordinary, tend to overload them with a lot more than a child could handle. For example, there are pre-foundation classes for various entrance exams that start from as early as class 6th- they tend to be very popular in India. These activities often lead to a hectic life and no time for leisure activities. So now, when they have control of their life, they are not admiring hustle; they are actively trying to seek balance between work-life and mental well-being.
How Does Burnout Affect an Individual‘s Health?
Burnout not only affects an individual mentally but also physically. During the last decade, several studies have been published specifically looking at burnout. The relationship between burnout, anxiety and depression as a result of burnout has been frequently observed in the literature. (Johnson et al ., 2022). A small number of papers have highlighted that there are high levels of suicidal inclination among individuals suffering from burnout (Ryan et al, 2023).
Over all the workers suffering from burnout have reported poor health, chronic fatigue and a lower level of quality of professional life as well as personal life (Williams et al, 2020). Along with this past few years have seen a rise in cardiovascular disorders. The recent rise in cases of heart attack in younger adults is are easiest observable example. Burnout has been frequently correlated to lower cognitive health and thereby reduces productivity.
Does Hustle Really Work?
Hustle culture has had us focusing on the wrong things – ‘to be working every minute without breaks, to be exhausted, and if you are not doing that, you are worthless’ – which has been proven illogical. The Pareto Principle, named after the economist Vilfredo Pareto, states that in daily life 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. This observation-based principle really shows how hustle culture is ineffective. Various studies have shown that an average individual can do about 4-6 hours of deep work throughout the day; any increment in working hours above that could not produce similar results, as productivity declines.
Younger generations are realising the importance of Mental health and social life over the blind run behind power, thrown upon us by social media. They are realising what actually works in their favour, hence their asking for reasonable working hours is not about slacking off but about setting boundaries. They are choosing to prioritise mental health and sustainability over toxic productivity.
FAQs
1. Many millennials worked 40+ hours a week. How did it work for them?
Back in the olden days, there was a vast difference in life. Between the two partners, one of them usually stayed home to look after the kids, while the other focused on earning. The one who looked after kids did not have to bother about earning, while earning one had household chores taken care of, which is very different from today’s lifestyle. Also, the older generations faced burnout, but due to a lack of knowledge, they were never able to identify it.
2. What can we learn from Gen Z?
The easiest thing that could be learnt from younger generations is that life is never a race; it’s a simple walk that needs some companions (family and friends). By setting boundaries and being mindful at work, an individual can easily achieve a successful and meaningful life.
References +
Hanvoyj, (2024) How Gen Z is Challenging the Concept of Hustle Culture. Medium https://medium.com/@augustvoyej/how-gen-z-is-challenging-the-concept-of-hustle culture-bf6db8819db3
Ahola K, Kivimaki M, Honkonen T, Virtanen M, Koskinen S, Vahtera J, Lonnqvist J. Occupational burnout and medically certified sickness: a population-based study of Finnish employees. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2008;64(2):185–193.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Policy and Global Affairs; Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Whitacre P, Wullert K, editors. Impact of Burnout on the STEMM Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2025 May 6. Appendix C, Job Burnout: Consequences for Individuals, Organisations, and Equity.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2025/02/08/job-burnout-at-66-in-2025- new-study-shows/
