Hello, peeps! It's been some time since we caught up hence, quite excited to get back to you all.
So, cutting to the chase, let’s get something straight, the so-called "Hustle Culture" is dead.
Yep, you heard that right. It’s gone the same way floppy disks and flip phones have gone, and frankly, good riddance. Despite what certain "veterans" would have you believe about the sacredness of grinding it out 24/7, the world has finally woken up and smelled the burnout.
If you’re still romanticising those “rise and grind” slogans plastered on Instagram, it’s time for a reality check.
An honest truth is because of a huge shift in the dynamics of today's competitive environment and work culture, the hustle has become a trap and it’s been baiting us with the promise of success for far too long. But spoiler alert: The only thing you’re hustling towards is exhaustion, and probably a hospital bed.
Just ask the 25-year-old techie who, after pulling all-nighters one day, found himself lying in a hospital, blaming the very culture that taught him to hustle till he drops — literally. Not just that, a CEO of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up came under fire for sharing the intense daily routine of his co-founder in a post on LinkedIn. The post triggered a discussion on whether such dedication promotes a toxic work culture.
But wait, let us not forget these business tycoons who are calling it quits on hustle culture. Swiggy's CEO, Sriharsha Majety, called it “bullsh*t” and urged people to stop glorifying the late-night grind. Yes, you read that right —a man who built a billion-dollar empire is telling you to stop working past 8 pm. Proof enough?
The Great Hustle Hoax
For years, hustle culture was marketed as the only way to achieve success, especially in the start-up and tech worlds. If you weren’t spending 80-hour weeks sleeping under your desk or mainlining coffee like it was oxygen, the consensus was that you weren't even trying!
Hustle culture wanted you to believe that the only way to get ahead was to work yourself into an early grave. You were supposed to wear that burnout badge with pride, like battle scars.
But what was happening behind the scenes? We were in a silent war with ourselves.
Burnout, stress, mental breakdowns, anxiety disorders, and more — this is what a whole generation of professionals are going through for a shot at success. And let’s be real, would you define this as "success"? As Majety said, working late into the night isn’t a badge of honour — it’s a neon sign flashing, “You’re doing it wrong.”
The youth are wisening up — finally!
Yes! The working style of youngsters has mostly made Human Resources (HR) professionals complain...
But now Gen Z and millennials are saying, "Thanks, but no thanks" to the grind.
Do you know what they’ve realised? Hustling might get you a few LinkedIn likes, but it’s not doing anything for your mental health, your relationships, or that thing called a life. And that’s important because... Surprise! — you're allowed to have one outside of work. YOLO, isn't it?
The hustle isn’t just unhealthy — it’s toxic. Hustle culture is the fast food of work philosophies: Looks tasty at first, but leaves you feeling constipated later.
Why hustle culture deserves to die
Here are a few key reasons why I feel we need to hustle to end the hustle culture
The link between overworking and poor mental health is crystal clear and there's enough evidence out there. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is now an official workplace syndrome, and it’s costing us $1 trillion in lost productivity every year worldwide.
It turns out that exhausted employees aren’t exactly high performers. Duh!
Shocking! Or is it?
The best metaphor I can come up with is the perception of running a well-planned marathon but expending the energy of a super-fast sprint, you're bound to empty your tanks much faster!
Studies have shown that after a certain number of hours, productivity doesn’t just plateau — it nosedive.
Plus, the general tendency to rely on caffeine as oxygen is leading to physiological issues, making it a recipe for the ultimate disaster.
Working 12-hour days doesn’t make you a superhero, it makes you sloppy. Mistakes, inefficiency, and lower-quality work are the rewards of overworking.
Let’s face it, the pandemic was the slap in the face we all needed. We finally realised that maybe, just maybe, there’s more to life than work.
But, did we really need to realise this only when we had to slow down? Were we hypnotised to such a level that we just couldn't realise this until it was a forceful dissociation?
Whether it was rediscovering a hobby, spending more time with family, or just binge-watching Netflix guilt-free, people now value their "me" time in ways that hustle culture can’t compete with.
So, what next then? Let's collectively work towards ushering in an era of balance!
Now that most of us are spreading awareness about the hustle culture, it’s high time we talk about what comes next. What does the future of work look like, when all of us aren't trying to out-grind each other?
Here’s my blueprint for what should replace the hustle culture:
1. Work-life balance should become the norm, it should be classically conditioned and should be non-negotiable: Organisations need to wake up and stop pretending that work-life balance is some sort of rare luxury. It should be the foundation, the default, and the "new normal".
Flexible hours, mandatory vacations, and mental health days shouldn’t be seen as perks — they should be standard practice.
2. Results over hours: I am not an expert when it comes to policies, so rather than deep diving, I'd like to just say that we need to establish metrics based on efficiency and develop strategies to "recharge" employees.
Imagine the impact, if we cared more about the quality of work rather than how many hours were spent at a desk. Instead of rewarding people for staying late, how about we celebrate efficiency and creativity? If you can get your work done in six hours, why should you stay for ten?
Spoiler: You shouldn't!
3. Mental well-being isn’t optional: Mental health days, wellness programmes, and counselling services shouldn't be optional, they should be mandatory like the psych-evals (psychological evaluations) that are followed in fields like law enforcement.
These aren’t feel-good extras or value-added services, they’re necessities. Gone are the days when mental well-being was a personal problem and it's high time we start acknowledging that it’s a collective responsibility.
It is important to remember that a healthy employee is an engaged employee.
The one thing I am really happy about...
...is the fact that organisations are catching on... finally! Even big corporations are coming to terms with the fact that burnt-out employees are bad for business. CEOs like Majety and other enlightened leaders are making work-life balance more than just a buzzword.
The reality? Happy, well-rested employees perform better.
The need of the hour is to move toward a work culture that celebrates balance, well-being, and — dare I say it — happiness. I'd like to end our conversation by saying...life is about quality, period.
With Regards,
Your beloved coach,
Adarsh Benakappa Basavaraj.
