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Anna Bazhenova
3 days ago

The Silent Burnout

What is hustle culture and how is it affecting our mental health?  


Hustle culture is the idea that in order to get ahead, you have to keep pushing and putting all your hours into work. It is seen almost everywhere and is caused by unrealistic standards. Most are associated with the workplace, employers commonly glamorize hustle culture, rewarding people who overwork to achieve the manager’s professional goals. This results in employees putting all their daylight hours into work at the expense of self-care and leading their own personal lives.  


Additionally, hustle culture is present amongst students, especially those in their final years of school. This is generally caused by the idea that all teachers expect students to complete hundreds of tasks, homework, and quizzes they set them to perfection, if students want to get in to top universities. As a result, students spend hours hunched over their desks trying to balance everything but their personal lives; they no longer have time for their hobbies or feel guilty when they relax and do not work. 


This constant sacrifice for work leads to stress and ultimately burnout. Students and adults work hard to uphold the given standards with little reward, and the tiredness that comes from this hustle culture can build up, leading to anxiety, exhaustion, depression, and burnout. It also impacts physical health leaving no time or strength for self-care and exercise causing physical exhaustion, weight gain, trouble sleeping and much more. 

Since students and adults are expected to continue to meet performance requirements, they continue to work in a state of stress and hide their mental and physical problems, ultimately leading to a silent burnout.  

However, here are some ways students and adults can combat this: 

  • Firstly, make sure to take breaks. Scheduling time to rest and recharge is vital to improve your overall quality of work. It is important to spend time with friends, go out to eat, or even spend a relaxing evening at home watching your favorite show.   

 

  • Secondly, make sure to exercise. Any form of exercise increases the production of endorphins, a chemical in the brain that improves your mood and well-being. It also lowers the stress hormone, cortisol, allowing you to be more relaxed mentally. Additionally, after you exercise, your muscles loosen, which helps you be physically relaxed and can improve your sleep. 

 

  • Thirdly, set your own realistic standards and goals. Understand your own strengths and weaknesses, using them to set your own goals. Communicate these goals to your teacher or manager and stick to them so that you work on yourself and do not compare yourself or compete with others. 

 

  • Lastly, when working, limit distractions and refuse to multitask. Having your brain focused on many different tasks at once and getting distracted by occasional emails or notifications stresses your brain and eventually negatively impacts your work. Be focused on one task at a time and you will complete all your work more efficiently and faster. 

 

In conclusion, it is time to raise awareness about the negative effects of hustle culture on our mental and physical health and start taking little steps to move away from this style of work. If you do not know where to start, the best thing to do is to talk to someone you trust and work with them to balance out your priorities.  

 


 

References:  

“Hustle Culture in the Workplace - Understanding Its Impact & How to Deal With It.” Workhuman, 19 Sept. 2024, https://www.workhuman.com/blog/hustle-culture/#toc-what-is-hustle-cultures-impact-on-mental-health. 

“Why Exercise Is So Powerful at Relieving Stress, According to Science.” How Does Exercise Relieve Stress? | The Output by Peloton, https://www.onepeloton.com/blog/how-does-exercise-relieve-stress/. Accessed 21 November 2024.  

 

 

 

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