Anti-Hustle Culture: A Closer Look
"Burning the candle at both ends.” “Work hard, play hard.” Side hustle. Full-time hustle. Even “hustle with ease.”
We coin cute phrases and terms to make it seem worthwhile, doable. But this hustle culture is an unsustainable, unfulfilling road straight to burnout. Which is why we’re throwing the “hustle” out the door, and embracing a culture of the anti-hustle entrepreneur. Breathing easier, already? Us too.
Let’s get acquainted with the anti-hustle culture
The rejection of the idea that you have to constantly push yourself, hustle, and work to get ahead to be successful, prosperous, or happy.
Now, we’re not suggesting that you stop working or take more mid-day naps than is realistic for your lifestyle. But we are recommending that you take a beat to reflect on how balanced, or burned out, your working style is making you feel.
Adding more breathing room between meetings and to-dos only makes it easier for creative a-ha moments to occur, in addition to the rest and respite that will help you accomplish better work over time.
Think slow living, finding your creative flow, and working in a way that feels more holistic, than like a constant hustle.
When did hustle culture start?
The startup industry is where this endless hustle first gained traction, alongside remote gig jobs and the opportunity to build something, and create a “side hustle” while you maintain the stability of a full-time job.
Social media doesn’t help, with a feed full of people and their busy, productive, all-too-perfect lives. This has created an urgency to keep up with unrealistic standards that are presented on social media, to feel like you’re doing more, enough, or living a perfect life.
The problem? Hustle culture doesn’t have a happy ending
As the founder of a multi-million dollar brand, I fell for it too. The hustle seems like a temporary track to success, but if you start by hustling, it’s difficult to get out of the hustle.
When I started my company, I was working 60-70 hour weeks. I was burned out with important items falling through the cracks. It was hard to admit or even recognize that my productivity was down, because my rest time was down too. When I learned to work 20-25 hours a week (which took time!), I found much better results and a fuller life.
If you build anything, it’s almost impossible to follow a fast, churn-and-burn process that works, and then expect to be able to do it without that stress and pressure later on. Building a business and hustling to do so, means that you will also be scaling your business down the road, and hustling then too.
It sets an expectation that you can continue to hustle, and hustle, and hustle — over and over again until something breaks, then hustle again to fix it. Most of the time, it’s our mental health that shuts down, or our personal lives — time with friends, seeing your kids’ soccer games.
The truth is, it isn’t sustainable.
Why is hustle culture toxic?
Hustle culture proudly perpetuates the idea that success can only be achieved through constant hard work, without any space for mindful practices or intention. We’re here to tell you otherwise.
Unrealistic for the long-term
Damaging to mental and physical health
Creates an unhealthy precedent
Leads to burnout
Decreases productivity over time
What this has all led to
Quiet quitting, side hustles that become full-time stressors, and entrepreneurs that are constantly on edge.