This post is all about grind culture. What is grind culture? Why is it toxic? And what are some hidden examples of hustle and grind culture in our everyday lives?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
How Hustle Culture Supports Capitalism
5 Hidden Hustle Culture Examples
WHAT IS GRIND CULTURE?
Have you ever felt guilty for skipping a day at the gym? Maybe you feel insecure about how much money you make or where you are in your career. You may be surprised to learn that these feelings are probably caused by grind culture.
Grind culture (aka hustle culture) is a collection of beliefs and customs that encourages people to constantly work, produce, and improve. It teaches us that the more we do, the better our lives will be.
Hustle culture shows up in our media, our workplace cultures, and the lessons we learn as children. For example, society rewards the hardest workers with wealth, fame, and success. This encourages everyday people to work hard to get these valuable benefits.
HOW GRIND CULTURE SUPPORTS CAPITALISM
If you have a job, you probably live in a society ruled by capitalism. In capitalist systems, private businesses hire workers to produce goods or services in exchange for a paycheck. Then, businesses make a profit by selling those goods and services for a higher price than they paid.
Hustle culture supports capitalism by encouraging workers to be productive. We get positive benefits like money, recognition, and approval when we spend our time working. Employers often reward employees with awards and bonuses for working long hours. And family and friends shower us with gifts and congratulations when we graduate from school or reach a professional goal.
Hustle culture also uses negative feedback to motivate workers to stay on the hamster wheel. Since everything in the capitalist system costs money, people need to work and make money to pay for the food, water, and shelter we need to survive. Society also teaches us that adults who don’t have jobs and need public assistance are lazy and selfish.
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WHY IS GRIND CULTURE TOXIC?
Grind culture measures our value based on how productive we are. It teaches us that people aren’t important if they aren’t generating income, even if they have an illness or disability. Grind culture even uses certain workplace norms to condition employees to feel powerless.
Hustle culture also discourages us from resting. It teaches us that we should only use downtime and relaxation to briefly recharge before continuing to work. That’s why many people feel guilty for taking a nap or a day off work, especially if they haven’t done enough to “earn” a break. It’s also why so many people struggle with chronic fatigue and burnout.
These teachings are toxic because humans are naturally worthy, no matter how much we produce or how much money we make. We don’t need to earn acknowledgement and respect.
Humans also deserve time to just be without shame, and we should never feel guilty or nervous about taking a vacation. There’s nothing wrong with beneficial work, but grind culture takes productivity to an unhealthy extreme. And many thought leaders have started to hold grind culture responsible for widespread burnout and overwhelm, particularly among people whose work fuels our communities.
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5 HIDDEN HUSTLE CULTURE EXAMPLES
Unfortunately, you can’t escape the hustle mentality. It’s like smog in the air we breathe.
But you can outsmart it. You first have to figure out how it shows up in your daily life. Then, you can find ways to combat it.
It can be tricky to pinpoint hustle culture because it’s so normalized in society. But here are five ways it might show up and lead to burnout in your life:
1. Your colleagues expect you to check your email outside work hours.
2. Your employer expects you to be available for “emergencies” when you’re on vacation.
3. You feel the need to use your free time “productively,” instead of resting or having fun.
4. You feel like you’re not doing enough in life when you compare yourself to friends, colleagues, and other people on the internet.
5. You feel disappointed when you don’t do things perfectly.
Now that you’ve seen some examples, think of other thoughts or expectations that make you strive for perfection and productivity instead of resting and accepting yourself as you are.
This post was all about grind culture and how it leads to burnout.
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5 Hidden Workplace Norms That Make You Forget Your Worth
How to Spot Signs of a Toxic Work Culture in a Job Description
