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Hustle culture is all about continuously working for hours and devoting as much time as possible to work. It is putting work above everything else. In today’s highly competitive and fast-paced lifestyle, hustle culture is becoming the norm for more and more people. This lifestyle has taught people that overworking is the only way to earn respect and become successful. But even if hustle culture might seem like it’s motivating, it is, in reality, very toxic. People may believe that working for hours equates to high productivity and success, but the truth is, it leads to burnout and toxic productivity. 

Working hard and giving your all is highly celebrated in workplaces but at the cost of your mental health? Maybe not. Although hustling might promote accomplishing as many tasks as possible, working continuously for long hours leads to negative health effects. It detriments your mental health, leading to increased anxiety and depression. 

For most people, working long hours is associated with moving up the success ladder faster or making six figures in the shortest time possible. But this comes at the cost of your health, sleep, work-life imbalance and devoting all of yourself to work. The truth is that hustling is exhausting and can lead to burnout. Ofcourse hard work is necessary, but overworking yourself to the point where you don’t even have a second to yourself is not worth it. 

People might be exhausted from within, yet they force themselves to keep going and work through it. People who have been addicted to working for hours believe that taking a rest is a waste of time. Their brain becomes trained to always be active. They think that if they are not constantly working, they are not being productive or doing well enough. 

But the reality is that overworking is not the stepping stone for success. Constantly working creates monotony and dullness in a person’s life. Chronic workaholism can be detrimental in the long run. Slowly people experience a lack of motivation and energy to work, and in return, there is a decline in their work competence. When they burnout, they are not able to perform as well as they had expected to. They become mentally exhausted and are not able to perform even the minimal tasks at work. Their productivity goes down along with their health.

While working hard is necessary, taking a break is equally important too. You don’t need to burnout to convince yourself that you are working hard. Allow your mind to rest and recharge. It’s not necessary to be productive every minute of your day. Do not feel guilty if you are not able to be as productive as you had aimed to be. Realize if your work is helping you and your well-being. Learn to set boundaries and embrace a work-life balance. Listen to your mind and body. Take as much rest as you need, and when you get back to work, you will feel fresh and be able to do better while working hard within your boundaries, rather than by overworking yourself.