All Work and No Play May Kill Jack.

In a dark room, your only source of light is a screen and a dim light on your table. It’s 2:45 AM. This time, last night, you promised yourself you’ll get enough sleep tomorrow. It’s just one more email, a few more words, one more report and you’ll be done. You’ll rest later, you promise yourself once again, you’ll get enough sleep tomorrow. What if tomorrow never comes?

This is hustle culture. You’re always on, always working. The Indian workforce consists of 400 million people. It makes up for 39.1% of the world’s population. The younger generation has chosen to participate in a culture where the concept of workaholism isn’t just applauded but a competitive event.

Like a double-edged sword, this work culture has resulted in several cases of chronic stress disorders and stress-induced cardiac problems. 40% of Indians who suffer from heart attacks are under the age of 55. The frequency of coronary heart disease in young Indians is 15-18% higher than in any other population group globally.

According to a global survey by travel agency Expedia Inc. four years ago, India had the highest number of overworked people, after Hong Kong. Indians worked an average of 42 hours over five days a week, just 2 hours short of Hong Kong’s.

Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century French mathematician and philosopher once said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly.” Needless to say, Pascal would be unhappy with how the hustle culture has unfolded.

In an age of self-care and growing awareness about mental health and its significance, the concept of ‘hustling’ should have been obsolete. However, the opposite seems to be happening. Self-care is a teaching that emphasizes on loving yourself and allowing yourself to breathe and be mindful of the present.

Self-care and self-help experts often encourage people to get more rest and sleep, meditate, and spend more time outside. Yet, all of these teachings are to prepare you for future workloads and never for the intrinsic value that life has to offer. As self-care experts remind you to rest ever so often, parallelly a different kind of media has been unfolding. The younger generation or Generation Z has convinced itself that one should be thankful for Mondays. The greatest minds of our generation log 18-20 hours in a workday and then use the hashtag, ‘#hustle’ on social media posts.

When Employees Do The Hustle:

Performative workaholism is now a lifestyle. One of the culprits to contribute to the growth of this lifestyle are coworking spaces such as We Work.

Every coworking space will be lit up with neon signs screaming, ‘Hustle Harder’ Or ‘Stop when you are done.’ Understandably, ‘Keep on hustling’ is a more eloquent way of asking the younger workforce to ‘Join the rat race and never stop running.’ We Work, one such co-working space was valued at $47 Billion in recent times. It has branches in 27 countries with 4,00,000 tenants including workers from 30% of the Global Fortune 500.

According to some experts, the thirst for hustle didn’t just emerge but was taught. David Hansson, co-founder of Base Camp, a software company says, “The vast majority of people beating the drums of hustle-mania are not the people doing the actual work. They’re the managers, financiers, and owners”

The concept of productivity has become donned an elegant garb of spirituality. Management and the workforce alike believe the latter are nothing more than resources to be expended. Once their limits are pushed, they will be replaced.

The endpoint of all this hustling is -- burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. The Burnout Syndrome was first recognized in early 1974 and the term was coined by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger.

In a survey conducted by Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm, 23% of employees report feeling ‘burnout’ at work very often or always. An additional 44% of employees reported feeling it sometimes.

The syndrome caused by chronic stress at work has become so universally experienced that World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken the notable step of adding it to the list of International Classification of Diseases.

WHO defines the syndrome as “Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. The syndrome is characterized by three dimensions. - 1. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2. increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and 3. reduced professional

efficacy. Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life."

One could think that only underpaid laborers, investigative journalists or persons working in high-stress jobs are the only ones who are prone to burning out. Sadly, the overwhelmed, fatigued feeling and guilt over the inability to perform simple tasks come for us all.

Technology could be the reason for the rise in popularity of the overworked culture. Monica Mahajan, associate director of Max Healthcare, Delhi says, “Glancing at the glowing screen has become a habit of sorts. We tend to feel better not having a full inbox when we log on in the morning and assume work to be less by responding to that one mail in the middle of the night. But all this results in health problems like blood pressure, diabetes, and heart problems, and sometimes even burnout.”

It is argued that we might work ourselves to a burnout because of the internalized idea that you have to be working all the time. There is a shared ideology that in you must compete with others by working harder and faster at the cost of your own mental and physical being in order to achieve success and happiness.

While it is known that working in this manner does not help one achieve happiness, there might be another reasoning at play. According to the author of “The Anxiety Toolkit” and “The Healthy Mind Toolkit,” Alice Boyes, Ph.D. says, “Being always on can create a constant sense of anxiety and like there is always something we should be doing”

She further explains that having multiple ongoing projects makes it difficult to mentally justify doing something that isn’t deemed as ‘being productive.’ She continues, “People can find themselves going to their job by day and then coming home and working on their side hustle by night, and that provides a good sense of variety until the person starts to find it difficult to do things they’d like to do that don’t feel productive.”

The commodification and capitalization of time and energy can result in one feeling as they need to constantly sell themselves and a simultaneous dissatisfaction with what you are doing. To put it simply, it could feel like what you are doing is never enough. The consequence of this is the feeling of dread and hopelessness that follows every idle moment.

This feeling is more familiar in locations such as Japan and India. Every year, thousands of deaths related to overwork—from strokes, heart attacks, and suicide—are reported in Japan. So widespread is the problem that there’s a term for it—karoshi.

According to an article in The Guardian, “About 2,000 people a year kill themselves due to work-related stress, according to the government, while other victims die from heart attacks, strokes and other conditions brought on by spending too much time at work."

To combat this overwhelming feeling, experts suggest that budgeting your time and energy should be a priority so you don’t run out of them. While these are renewable sources of energy, time is fixed and once spent is lost.

Another habit to start practicing would be mindfulness. It is possible to be participating in the hustle culture unknowingly. Psychologists such as Carla Manley suggest to recognize your habits and pay attention to what your body tells you. While the effects of Hustle and overworking may not seem immediate, they are cumulative and could result in burnout and extreme fatigue.

To be mindful would also include paying attention to your relationships and your surroundings. In other words, stop, breathe, and smell the roses.

When Students Do The Hustle:

While the WHO specifically characterizes burnout as a syndrome that can only be caused due to professional settings, it may not be true.

In a study conducted by the Cambridge Assessment International Education group, approximately two-third of Indian students take extra tuition for key subjects after school, 72% participate in co-curricular activities and 74% play sports regularly in school.

To add to that, the study also concluded that Indian students spend the highest time doing homework. 40% of students spend two to four hours on their homework every day while 37% of them spend the same time over the weekend too.

Ironically, the study underlined that most of the teachers in India don't feel pressured to ensure their students perform well whereas Indian parents have a keen interest in their children's education.

If one adjective to be used for Indian students could be hardworking, a synonymous adjective could be ‘overburdened.’ Student suicides aren’t an unheard reality in India. According to the 2015 report by the National Crime Records Bureau of India, 8,934 students commit suicide every year ― One student, every hour.

The competitive norm to score higher than the rest hasn’t encouraged the students to be well educated but rather obtain information for the sake of it. The Asian Education and Development Studies conducted a study with 400 adolescent students, from five private secondary schools in Kolkata studying in grades 10 and 12 to study the prevalence of academic stress and exam anxiety among students.

The findings revealed that while 35% and 37% of students reported having very high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety respectively, all students reported having high levels of academic stress. Those who had lower grades reported higher levels of stress than those with higher grades.

In current times, education is considered more of a competition than an opportunity for growth. The word itself is often associated with terms such as a ‘rat race’. While the Indian education system is well equipped with preparing its students for the competing and ruthless nature of the world, the same cannot be said for the way mental health is handled in institutions.

The nature of high pressure and stress can often lead to students feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and helpless. These unacknowledged, real emotions could build up and result into an unfortunate, permanent decision like suicide.

Students have to navigate through a complex emotional ecosystem when it comes to combating academic pressure. This includes the pressures of self-image and insecurities of the future coupled with deep shame, guilt, fear, and inability to cope with a rapidly growing future.

India is currently at the heart of a mental health epidemic. According to a study published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 37% of Indian students suffer from depression or some sort of mental illness. The highest contributor to these rising levels of stress and cases of mental illnesses seem to be the wish to enroll in good colleges coupled with the competitive need to be better than the rest and parental pressure.

If nothing, the study emphasizes the need for mental health services and awareness in schools and colleges. The knowledge of understanding your own mental health and being able to take action for your mental wellbeing are important lessons to be taught for the real world.

While most colleges are reluctant to either ease up on the syllabus given to students or provide help, some colleges have now appointed counselors and therapists in their institutions. A better understanding of budgeting time and setting boundaries between work/study and personal life inculcated from a young age could go miles for any individual.

Have These Voices Been Heard?

While the silent cries for help by their employees went unheard, the realization that longer work hours do not mean higher productivity struck a chord with many companies. With the influx of burnout cases, and reports of young cardiac and stress-induced health issues, it is easy to feel disheartened about the state of employment in the world.

However, some companies have heard these issues and have been working on a better workday. Airbnb provides free yoga classes for their employees. Apple allows 30 minutes a day for employees to meditate. Nike offers access to relaxation rooms.

There is fun in office activities many companies have opted for. For example, an online storage giant, Dropbox provides ping pong tables. The Google offices sport a bowling alley and a basketball court.

Microsoft’s Japan office tried a 4 day work week and it boosted productivity by 40%. According to Business Insider, The trial was part of Microsoft's "Work Life Choice Challenge 2019 Summer.” It was a project aimed at boosting creativity and productivity by giving employees more flexibility. Microsoft Japan closed its offices every Friday during the month of August and found that labor productivity increased by 39.9% compared to August 2018.

Along with the reduced workdays, Microsoft also reduced the duration of meetings by implementing a 30-minute cap on meetings and encouraging remote communication. Besides the employees, the project found it also helped Microsoft preserve electricity and office resources. The number of pages printed decreased by 58.7%, while electricity consumption was down by 23.1% compared to August 2018.

Studies highlighted the rising demand for shorter workweeks. The majority of workers around the world agreed that a four-day-work-week was their most ideal and preferred work situation.

Many budding companies have focused on making mental health discussions a norm at the workplace. Shruti Chaturvedi, the founder, and editor of Chaaipani believes hustling helps no one. At the online media outlet, employees are encouraged to take ‘mental health sick days’ in case they feel too overburdened or overwhelmed with work.

The need for new age policies regarding work hours at companies is evident. Most employees report they feel uncomfortable mentioning stress caused due to work to their employers. A conversation built around employees and employers well being is necessary and in need of the hour.

The Grind Never Stops On Social Media:

To reiterate, we are the content we consume and the media we experience. While one side of the hustle media influencers encouraging you to work harder or convincing you that there is no gain without pain, the other side of it might be a true reflection of what the consequences of hustle may be.

Traditional media outlets focus on how a culture of overworking is harmful in a straightforward manner, however, the way social media conveys a generation’s frustration is through humor. This humor is hugely in the form of memes about wanting to die.

While this may seem harmless, underneath lies an internalized idea that could potentially be the rosebud of a much larger issue.

When you tell your colleague or friend that you were only able to get a few hours of sleep, do they often immediately in return tell you they got an even lesser amount of sleep? Have you been guilty of competing about poor physical habits with your friends and coworkers as well?

This could be an effect of the content you’re consuming. When you’re overworked and the only leisure you have is scrolling through your Facebook/Instagram, seeing a funny picture humorously portraying your pain, it will stick with you.

Consequently, soon a person may embrace the idea of constantly grinding, working and sacrificing peace and happiness in order to be successful. Next, the practices of hardly sleeping or eating or socializing become another milestone to compete in among your peers. All those memes about snuggling cats in bed could just be an attempt to put a positive spin on the grim circumstances that have pushed this generation into retreat.

The internet is often home to self-deprecating memes with a bitter truth presented in a micro joke, but it doesn’t have to be. The awareness in people about mental health reached Instagram as well. Many psychologists attempt to get positive information out through the same medium - Instagram/Facebook.

The first step to breaking out of a shell like this would be to destroy the idea that a person must be constantly grinding or working in order to be successful. Accept the idea that rest, recovery and reflection are essential parts of progress towards a successful and ultimately happy life.

Olive Burkman in his book, The Promise of Play said, “The deep problem with dedicating the whole of your time to productive and useful projects isn’t simply that it’s exhausting or depressing when they don’t work out. It’s that it renders your experience of life exclusively instrumental. It encourages you to value any given moment only insofar as it helps achieve some future purpose.”

While leaving a large system and practice like hustling is necessary for your well being, it is easier said than done. You may struggle to disentangle yourself from such a large web however, in moments of going back to old habits, it’s necessary to remember that this isn’t a task to complete or a line on a to-do list, or even a New Year’s resolution. It’s a way of thinking about life, and what joy and meaning we can derive not just from optimizing it, but living it. Which is another way of saying: It’s life’s actual work.

It is important to remember that you are more than what you do and more than what you have to offer to the world. Self prioritization is often seen as selfishness but should instead be viewed as an act of self preservation. There is solace in finding meaning in your work. However, when you when you find yourself at a saturated point where you can no longer differentiate yourself from work, stop, breathe and rest.