Millennials Is Hustle Culture Doing Us More Harm Than Good?

Hustle o! make conductor no go tell you to find change come. Does that ring a bell? If you are active on the Nigerian social media sphere, I bet it does. A few months back, the “hustle o” trend took over #NaijaTwitter, people came up with different memes on reasons why you should “hustle o”. It was then, the idea for this post was born. It has taken over a month to be penned because your dearly beloved writer has been hustling o.

What is hustle culture?

Hustle culture is aimed at disrupting “the regular”. It believes in living a life of rise and grind every other day. Although this culture has been imbibed in society for the longest time, this generation of millennials has brought it to the forefront, centring their entire life around it.

Erin Griffith in her New York Times Article says “hustle culture is obsessed with striving, relentlessly positive, devoid of humor, and — once you notice it — impossible to escape”.

Impactbnd, explains hustle culture as the societal standard that you can only succeed by exerting yourself at max capacity professionally. Everyday.

Hustle culture does not sleep. It does not take lunch breaks. Hustle culture is waking up Saturday morning and making spreadsheets instead of pancakes.

To fuel hustle culture, millennials practise less healthy habits to enable more hustle. These habits include sleeping less, taking no breaks and binge drinking coffee to stay alert even when your body signals reads “I need rest”.

Hustle culture is you working 18 hours a day and affiliating with the #nosleepgang. Hustle culture is you validating burn out. The list is endless but at this point, I believe you’ve gotten the drift on this thing called “hustle culture”.

My Experience As A millennial Caught in the Hustle Web.

During my teenage days, I had a clear picture of my dreams and goals, Most of them are almost forgotten as I type this. And no, it isn’t because I outgrew them, I’ve always been the one who knew exactly what she wants, so those dreams from 10 years ago were valid until the realization that I am a 20 something Nigerian living in a society that’s highly dysfunctional hit me. #Adulting

It all began with me rounding up with University and then the question of “what next” hit me hard. As one of the best graduating students of my class of UPH 2017, My certificate was worth its weight in Gold but all that Gold looked like stemware in the Nigerian Labour Market.

Where are the job opportunities for a graduate of Theatre and Film studies when our National Theatre lies in shamble and our movie industry suffers from lack of finances?

So it began, I laid my dreams down and for 7 months I juggled jobs after jobs, seized every viable opportunity that came my way, “remember money must be made” became my mantra. The end result was me finding zero satisfaction and feeling burn out daily.

I am Not Alone

Sadly, after several heartfelt conversations with friends and some online acquaintances, I found out I wasn’t the only one experiencing this. A lot of millennials are finding themselves burn out daily while practising the hustle culture.

Hustling means you are always in work mode. Even when you’re not working, you’re constantly thinking and talking about work. Ever wondered about the sudden increase in more cases of depression and suicide amidst Millenials? an underlying factor is the pressure brought on by the hustle culture.

Is Hustle Culture Causing Millenials more harm than good?

I stand for neither yes nor no, because from my experiences, the hustle culture has enabled me to develop several skill sets which in all truthfulness has brought in more money than I imagined.

However, I can say this because I have effectively found a work/life balance that works for me. I can stand on the fence because I have identified the “hustles” that should stay and those that should go. I have reidentified my dreams and aspirations and learnt that the mentality of “hustle o” or “we die here” doesn’t help my mental health one bit and have broken free.

But what about those who haven’t? Those who juggle a 9-5 and 6 side hustle all in the name of hustle culture.

How about millennials who no longer have lives because they are too caught up in hustle cultures to remember that you only live once.

What about the major role social media plays in fueling hustle culture? A scroll through your Instagram feed would give you a million and one reasons why you aren’t doing enough, why your life pales in comparison to others and then a small voice somewhere in your head screams “hustle o”! and the vicious cycle begins again.

What’s your take on millennials and the hustle culture? Do you think it’s doing more harm than good and vice versa?