Dark Reality Behind The Hustle Culture During COVID-19

Let us face it, COVID-19 has disrupted plans we’ve made for ourselves, forcing all of us to go into quarantine to slow the spread of the virus. However, just as COVID-19 is contagious, so is the concept of hustling.

If you're unfamiliar with hustling, it goes a little something like this: you wake up, check your emails, get ready, grab a quick bite, check your emails again, brainstorm ways to make money in the middle of traffic, make your eighth cup of coffee, work through that project till 5 am, just to repeat that process all over again the next day.

What is hustling?

The hustle culture also referred to as the burnout culture, workaholism or toxic productivity is all about constantly working. Those who hustle attempt to devote as much time as possible to work. It is a belief that you can succeed and achieve anything you want but this is only possible if you devote yourself entirely to work and push through the pain.

The hustle culture has been around longer than the novel virus, that the concept, technically qualifies as a mental contagion, prominently amongst the youth. The positive message of dream chasing through non-stop work. Although sounds promising, it is detrimental.

Effects of Hustling.

Completing as many tasks as possible and working hard is celebrated in almost every environment, hustling is on a different level.

Through hustling, it is easy to believe that working overtime equates to high productivity. It is self-sacrificial yet delusional, motivating yet toxic.

Research states that more than 52% of people are overworked and experience burnout. As much as we hate to believe it, the truth is, working long hours leads to poor mental health, increased anxiety, and depression.

Possible Cause of Hustling.

The root of the problem is embedded in social media, scrolling through the glitz and glam of so-called "photo dumps", idolising influencers, beauty gurus, traders, and investors. Posts about how to make money within a week, followed by hashtags with the phrases: "rise and grind", "build your empire", to name a few, is the depiction of a meaningful life that many people have fallen victim to.

I fell victim to this trap. Enticed by the "uplifting" motivational quotes written on pastel backgrounds all over social media, I decided to launch my online business, unknowingly that I had just asked for trouble. Being a postgraduate student is already taxing, having to deal with handing in a research report, whilst going through product inventory and completing customer orders. Although, I am making my dream a reality, taking a break occasionally would not be such a bad idea.

Life itself is chaotic, with all the extensive to-do lists, classes, work, meeting deadlines, along with the added stress of “making it big”. Suddenly, being busy becomes competition amongst ourselves.

Not that there is anything wrong with dreaming big, the issue around hustling is that it pushes the individual beyond their limit. Ultimately, manifesting into an obsession with productivity is negative to an individual's psyche.

At the end of the day, you should not succumb to the pressures of starting a new business or making six figures through get rich quick schemes. If there is anything COVID-19 has taught us, is that it is okay to not be okay. As cliché as it might sound, we must realise that we are currently facing something the world has never witnessed before, and we all will not get through it the same way.

Sometimes taking a step back to regroup and reassess things should not be a crime.

So, if you find yourself chilling at home with a bag of Doritos in hand, binge-watching your favourite series on Netflix during this pandemic, ignoring posts that criticize your lack of productivity, go right ahead! We all need a breather at times.

If you want to build something, do it for yourself, at your own pace and not because you saw someone else doing it. After all, slow and steady wins the race.