On her 2022 album Renaissance, Beyoncé sang, “You won’t break my soul… I just quit my job / I'm gonna find new drive / Damn, they work me so damn hard / Work by nine, then off past five.”
Twitter erupted, immediately adopting “Break My Soul,” as the “anthem of the Great Resignation,” the trend of millions of people resigning during the pandemic to start their own businesses and find roles that suit their desired lifestyle. This move brought a larger question into the zeitgeist: Is hustle culture…over? Are we all ready to let go of toxic working practices, set boundaries, and, as Bey sings, “Release ya trade, release the stress / Release the love, forget the rest?”
It’s complicated, especially if you’re a side hustler, solopreneur, or a CEO running a team—and checking out for the day rarely (if ever) seems like an option.
While the word “hustle” has been used to describe laborious work since at least the 1800s, the term “hustle culture” is newly-minted and generally applies to knowledge workers (those employed for their knowledge and skills rather than providing goods and services). This oft-used phrase refers to glorifying—or being asked to glorify—a career-centered life. It’s also referred to as “burnout culture” or “grind culture” and may look like fielding your boss's texts at all-night hours, answering work calls on weekends, or burning the midnight oil to finally launch your business.
All of these behaviors arose out of perceived necessity in times of economic downturn: “The term ‘hustle culture’ became more popular in the Great Recession around 2008 when people started needing to take on side hustles just to make more money,” says Linda Piontek, founder, and CEO of Piontek Group, a consulting firm specializing in reducing employee turnover and bettering employee experience. “People got sucked into this workaholic mentality more and more. They thought they had to [hustle] to keep their jobs, make a good living, get a promotion, raise their families, and be successful.”
In 2023, this attitude has fallen out of fashion—at least publicly. Kim Kardashian received backlash online after she told women business owners to “work harder” in early 2022. Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, received a hefty serving of backlash for telling employees they would “need to be extremely hardcore" to weather the transitioning social media platform. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, a significant amount of the U.S. workforce would rather work from home than get a raise, indicating that work-life balance is the utmost priority to many.
Following the lowest unemployment rate in almost 50 years, employees have the power to demand a different work culture and desire. According to Piontek, the pandemic has prompted many people to rethink how their career fits into their lives. “Priorities were already shifting for people before the pandemic, but COVID-19 accelerated those shifts,” she says. “People saw their loved ones and colleagues dying from COVID-19, and they looked at their own lives and began to reevaluate what matters most to them. People asked themselves, Is it worth it?”
“People saw their loved ones and colleagues dying from COVID-19, and they looked at their own lives and began to reevaluate what matters most to them. People asked themselves, Is it worth it?”
- Linda Piontek, founder and CEO of Piontek Group
Data collected during the pandemic reflects this perspective shift: An estimated 47 million people quit their jobs in 2021 compared to 42 million in 2019. Nearly 4.5 million new businesses cropped up in the U.S. during 2020, a 51 percent higher increase than the 2010 to 2019 average. “Low unemployment, personal savings, and family safety nets helped make this possible,” says Piontek. Not to mention, many people stayed at their jobs while “quiet quitting” or doing the bare minimum to stay employed, placing a new emphasis on their non-work lives.
In short: Corporate culture changed from “living to work” to an attitude somewhere closer to “working to live,” a paradigm shift that bodes well for both employees and employers. "Working to the point of burnout and exhaustion, and lacking time or energy for health, fitness, and family, has many negative effects on not only employee well-being but also business results,” says Piontek. “When people overwork, they make more errors, get sick and take sick days more often, and become less productive.” Case and point: In 2022, Gallup predicted that low employee engagement costs the global economy $7.8 trillion annually.
As employees reject hustle culture, Piontek says that the C-Suite—be it a new entrepreneur with one employee or a CEO leading a team of a thousand—should keep two words in mind: flexibility and trust. “Employees want to be trusted to do their jobs at the time and place that works best for them when they can be most productive,” she says. “For some people, that means taking time off during the day to do things with their kids or take care of an elderly parent, balancing that with working early in the morning before the rest of the family gets up or working in the evening or over the weekend.”
Feeling trusted to work on their own schedule is the opposite of hustle culture—and makes every employee feel like they’re contributing to the company's success without contributing their entire life. Work-from-home culture is an important part of this brave new world of work, as well. “The best companies have figured out that caring about employees' well-being and not just allowing, but encouraging, them to live a healthy, productive lifestyle, helps not only employees but also the bottom line,” says Piontek.
For knowledge workers, “hustle culture” is, indeed, being left in the dust. But it’s worth noting that employees across all sectors, including those in the service, education, medical, and travel industries, also desire greater flexibility and less “hustle” in their day-to-day work. For example, many doctors and nurses who faced burnout during the pandemic quit, or at least considered quitting or dialing back their roles, to care for their mental well-being. In coming years, we will likely see folks across all specialties reject the notion of working harder instead of smarter, says Piontek.
Of course, there is the 2023 economy to consider. Many economists predict some economic slump in the coming year that could cost many people their jobs. As was the case in 2008, history shows that the fear of being laid off could insight people to put their heads down and get to work. This may be especially true for entrepreneurs who capitalize on the tricky economic climate and begin growing their businesses. Those who launch companies in times of economic distress have the advantages of less competition, discounted vendors, and access to business partners whom they may not be able to score a meeting with normally, reports Forbes. That said, even with these unique opportunities, self-employed folks may find their plates piling up, yet again needing to grapple with what the right amount of work looks like.
“‘Hustle culture’ in its most unhealthy manifestation—expectations for relentless hard work, overwork to the point of burnout, sacrificing personal well-being—is fading,” says Piontek, but that’s not to say that it’s gone. Like a light that flickers instead of just turning on or off, hustle culture isn’t consistent; it fluctuates based on industry, leadership, and, of course, whether you’re an employee or self-employed.
For those trying to build a business from scratch, there are ways to head off this urge to hustle (and the corresponding burnout that arrives a few steps behind). Late last year, Create & Cultivate asked 15 entrepreneurs how they bounced back from work exhaustion. Their suggestions included hiring and delegating, keeping track of what tasks drain you the most, taking an (extended) break, hiring a therapist, and treating your time like currency.
“My favorite mantra has always been to be the tortoise, not the hare. If you’re driving yourself full force and not stopping, you’re not only going to crash and burn. You’re going to miss out on life.”
Gesche Haas, founder and CEO of Dreamers & Doers
“For so long, we’ve been told to ‘hustle,’ ‘no days off,’ and ‘sleep when you’re dead.’ Those are all the things that are burning us out,” reflected Gesche Haas, the founder and CEO of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership opportunities, authentic connection, and access. “My favorite mantra has always been to be the tortoise, not the hare. If you’re driving yourself full force and not stopping, you will not only crash and burn. You’re going to miss out on life.”
What would happen, she wondered, if we offered ourselves grace and gave ourselves time to be human instead of time to hustle? It’s an important question.
In 2023, determining your relationship to your work is now part of your job description—and an important one. Renaissances take a hot minute, and while we need change to happen on a corporate level, taking a lunchtime walk or ending things with a toxic client is a start. Like Bey says, it's more than work at stake.
