Can Healthy Balance Be Found Within Our Hustle Culture Society?

Is Hustle Culture Harder on Women?

It definitely can be. Since women are the ones having children and there is an internal clock to begin a family, that can affect the hustle to move up in the career faster. Women aren’t often given the same pay or equal consideration for the same job – especially when the hiring managers know they may need accommodation for their families so they may not be able to devote as much time as a male candidate. Additionally, women who are working all the time may have to outsource things like childcare, house cleaning, getting the kids to their activities, etc – which incurs extra costs to afford the help and that, of course, further perpetuates the need to hustle more. It’s a catch 22!

Young Adults Are Fed Up with This Grind Mentality

And recently that has led to something new coined “the Great Resignation”. Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, millions of workers under 40 have left their traditional jobs to take sabbaticals and live off savings while trying to find more accommodating careers.

Time.com explains “the Great Resignation offers young workers time to nurse the wounds of pandemic burnout and untenable working conditions with dramatic life changes.”

And this plan could work out if they find the right new workplace or self-employment paths. However, if they don’t, they could be flipping jobs quite a lot which could cause other stress and self-esteem issues. This high, constant turnover is also leading to other staff not having good support and role models to learn from who are experienced in the position.

Finding Balance Within a Burnout World

Therapists often reference the 8 circles of wellness to allow for balance and positive mental health and professional goals is only ONE of those pillars – so obviously working all the time is not a way to live a healthy life. Many companies are recently starting to recognize that balance and mental health are important for retaining productive employees. They are incorporating mandatory scheduled breaks and leaving the office (or the WFH desk) at the actual daily quitting time.

Speaking of working from home, now it’s difficult to avoid overworking and setting boundaries, so defining guidelines for yourself that you won’t read or respond to messages during your scheduled off-hours is imperative. If you do respond at all hours, it sets your supervisor’s expectations that you are always available and perpetuates the chain of hustle and grind. It’s also very important to take at least one or two days off each week and take a restful and restorative vacation each year.

If someone sets an intention for the week and they plan what work will be done, then a disciplined person can indeed benefit from that sense of hustle. This requires the ability to stay true to themselves on what they planned and being mindful of other parts of their life and not just work – friendships, family, service, faith, etc.

Sometimes, you need to have the expectation in certain careers that there are times for you to hustle harder than others, for examples doctors on the ER rotation, realtors on weekends, and students during finals. When you know that certain shifts and times of year are busier than others then you can have the right mindset to know to expect that and you can offset some of your self-care for the slower times.