Natalie Sandridge
Professor Hammett
English 1312
Social Epidemic Essay
15 February 2023
Word Count: 889
How to Cure the Hustle Culture Epidemic
Business tips, psychological techniques, workout routines, productivity, “rise and grind”, “the 5-9 before your 9-5”. All of these words are the foundation of a pandemic taking over the working class: hustle culture. Hustle culture was formed in the United States after the recession of 2008. Before then it was most commonly known as workaholism. People spent excessive amounts of hours working and having side businesses to make ends meet, and they had no boundary between work life and home life. Someone who was a workaholic was not seen in a positive way. But as social media grew, workaholism got a makeover. Enter hustle culture. Workers who were still struggling after the recession were looking for ways to improve their work lives and be more productive, which in turn would make them more money. Social media influencers started spreading their advice and ideas for how to become more “productive”, whether through business techniques or their lifestyle at home. Their ideology is if someone is struggling, it's their fault for not being “savvy” or “productive” enough. This, of course, can cause multiple problems for someone stuck into this culture. In 2022, “over 77% of employees experience work-related burn out” (Munro, Monique-Monet 1). Is there a solution to eradicating hustle culture from society? Research shows that the solutions for hustle culture are simple but have long lasting, positive effects. Disconnecting from social media, setting boundaries in the workplace, and acquiring hobbies are all solutions for hustle culture.
The main solution for hustle culture is disconnecting from social media, specifically TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube, where it is most prominent. Because hustle culture relies heavily on social media, removing its “power source” from your life is a big way to overcome it. If deleting all social media seems like a daunting task, smaller disconnections like unsubscribing from and unfollowing accounts that produce “productivity” content can have massive positive effects. The biggest negative impact of social media is known as social comparison. Social comparison is exactly as it sounds: logging onto social media, scrolling through the feed, and comparing yourself to whoever is on the screen. A study conducted by Hyunji Kim et. al. revealed that engaging in social comparison “was significantly positively correlated” with a social media addiction. While social media addiction is a different type of social pandemic, the comparison is what feeds hustle culture. Influencers know the best ways to seem appealing to the users and create aesthetic or “down to earth” posts to draw them in. By removing these creators from your feed, the risk of social comparison significantly decreases. Without anything to compare to, focusing on self reflection and personal goals becomes exponentially easier. Plus, it can reduce the chance of social media addiction. Win-win.
The second solution for hustle culture is establishing boundaries in the workplace. Whether working at the office or at home, setting boundaries ensures protection against overworking and further burn out. Examples of having weak boundaries would be responding to emails late at night when the work day is over or working during vacation or off days. Experts say that by having no boundaries between work and personal life, you're “not allowing your brain to experience the natural neuro-syncing it needs” and “you'll likely be more stressed when you start your workday.” (Sanok, Joe). Humans are not machines and the brain needs time to process information and rest. While most of this happens during sleep, it still processes a lot throughout the day and having constant interruptions due to work or other factors makes it incredibly difficult for the brain to relax. The more time your brain has to process, the better it functions.
The final solution for hustle culture is acquiring hobbies. The term “hobby” doesn’t always mean a sport or a skilled craft, it can be anything that brings satisfaction or peace during leisure time, like listening to music, reading, gardening, etc.. Studies done on adults working from home show that having a hobby can have “beneficial effects on alleviating depressive symptoms” and “improve life satisfaction” (Bu, Feifei et. al). Having hobbies is not a solution to just an American problem, though. In China, a phenomenon known as “guolaosi'', or death by work, has occurred over multiple businesses and crafts and has taken a toll on the mental and physical health of the population. Studies show that workers who had hobbies outside of work had “significantly better mental health status than those who did not” in terms of both “depression (16.4% vs. 21.6%)” and “poor mental well being (20.4% vs. 30.7%)” (Li, Zan et. al). Although cleaning and other household jobs have some positive impact, it's still discouraged as a hobby or use of leisure time. Having hobbies or activities that are completely different from work allows the brain to still be stimulated and engaged without the stress of work.
As working from home becomes more common in most businesses and social media continues to grow in power, there is a large chance that hustle culture could continue to grow even larger and more toxic. However, having workers disconnecting from social media, setting strong boundaries, and having stimulating hobbies, can ensure that hustle culture does not spread any further than it already has. Soon, the shiny facade will fade and it will be seen as the toxic disease it is.
Works Cited
Bu, Feifei, et al. "Time-use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A panel analysis of 55,204 adults followed across 11 weeks of lockdown in the UK." MedRxiv (2020): 2020-08.
Kim, Hyunji, et al. “The Contributions of Social Comparison to Social Network Site Addiction.” PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 10, Oct. 2021, pp. 1–24
Li, Zan, et al. "Effect of long working hours on depression and mental well-being among employees in Shanghai: the role of having leisure hobbies." International journal of environmental research and public health 16.24 (2019): 4980.
Munro, Monique-Monét. "All Work and No Play Makes TikTok a Dull Platform: The Influence of TikTok’s ‘Hustle Culture’ on Productivity in the Digital Age." Intersect: The Stanford Journal of Science, Technology, and Society 16.1 (2022).
Sanok, Joe. “Slow Down and Set Boundaries to Boost Your Productivity.” TD: Talent Development, vol. 75, no. 12, Dec. 2021, pp. 64–66.
Comments