Breaking down hustle culture and our obsession with work
The what, how and why [9]:
Have you ever endured the trepidation of falling behind in your career, financial gain or educational achievements? If you have not, I envy you. If you have, I empathize with you.
Moving up and onwards from a competitive magnet high school and then business school in university, I was surrounded with ambitious peers. As an avid consumer of social media, I gorge on self-help content: from sharing of one’s college decision results (which I admit, I’m way too old for), tips to get get an internship spot at top tier employers, to how much one earns with one million views on a Youtube video.
As I currently live in America, this tendency is magnified through multitude of factors: social media, consumerism, the rise of lifestyle/influencer marketing, the media pushing the message of “pursuing your passion” and a majority of younger people entering the workforce with the expectation that their personal identity is closely tied to their day job, if not entirely dependent on.
Let’s breakdown the phenomenon together today.
I. The bare minimum
A famous study on the correlation of income level and happiness in 2010 in the U.S. showed that the salary level that optimizes for happiness hovers around $75,000. Above this level, emotional well being levels off. The responses of participants regarding emotional well being don’t increase (much, if any) after $75,000.
It’s important to note that it’s been twelve years since the research was conducted, along with current ongoing inflation, the salary rates might drastically differ. I found another recent research that indicates there is really no plateau point for increasing happiness as one’s salary increases. Does this mean we are doomed for ever wanting more?
Fortunately, there is a silver lining. What values one cherish most in life can dictate the amount of money/status she craves. A person who values stability may have very different needs from those of a person who values power, according to this article.
II. Self-worth
In business school, I was taught on day one how I should work hard and hone my skills in order to attract employers, which more often than not are traditional big corporations. There is a great merit in getting a good internship, a first prize in a case competition, a job offer from one of the Big 3 or Big 4 firms.
My entire business education revolves around how to be employed. Somehow, that was the central theme of the four years, while in my opinion, we should have been taught to be curious and liberate with our interests and natural talents instead of early specialization and pigeon-holing into a cookie cutter corporate individuals.
We were given group projects that simulate solving a problem for a company, dissect a Fortune 500’s company mission statement and vision, listen to innumerable corporate’s presentation on IT systems and how they revolutionized their processes.
It naturally progresses that a lot of us - young, eager to impress and perform, too proud for our own good decide that a good job: high-paying, grueling hours, for which job descriptions are indecipherable by outsiders brings us a sense of confidence and identity.
Workism, that is the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also center to one’s identity and life’s purpose has been widely circulated . A job needs not be just a job but also passion, life’s purpose and calling, fulfilling our desire to be useful, productive. It also contributes to a positive image of us being model citizens - something not unlike the below:
“She’s helping thousands of under-represented entrepreneurs gain access to capital and funds.”
“He’s bringing in customers to the software startup that will disrupt the consumer-tech industry.”
“She will finish her PhD in economics and design policies that will benefit so many communities, if not millions of people.”
III. Social media
People have internet personas; they put on facades and show their best selves online. It’s understandable but also a double-edged sword. I have had acquaintances posting joyful photos on the internet while going through mental breakdowns in their own personal lives. People who have eating disorders while still enthusiastically sharing workout routines and daily meals. You know it.
There is a huge pressure for social media users to appear doing well and enjoying life. Either put on positivity or nothing at all; we are harming ourselves, stuck in a catch 22 problem. Derek Thompson writes it best in his piece on America’s obsession with work: “Since the physical world leaves few traces of achievement, today’s workers turn to social media to make manifest their accomplishments. Many of them spend hours crafting a separate reality of stress-free smiles, postcard vistas, and Edison-lightbulbed working spaces.”
Not to mention the tropes of productivity gurus, self-help bros and advocates of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement, who constantly make you feel not particularly prime every time they post a video on how to stay motivated to pull a 12-hour-work day.
IV. Consumerism
The last piece of the puzzle that I will comment on relating to a culture of work obsession is consumerism. Consumerism prompts people to want materialistic possessions, circling back to the emphasis on work to earn capital.
Consumerism drives America’s economy. If you don’t own a house, you want one. If you already own one, you will want two or three. The groceries aisle in American cities can very well illustrate the extent of consumerism in this country: rows and rows of jams and nut butter, each with little to no significant differences. On your right are 20 brands of yogurt and on your left are 15 brands of milk. Not to mention, where would the Apple, Lululemon and Nikes go if people aren’t trained to constantly needing to possess new things?
To have the capacity to buy, one needs capital. To have capital, one needs to work more or have better paid jobs. This cycle feeds itself to perpetuate indeterminately. You work more, you earn more, you spend more. Repeat.
Parting words
I am not against finding passion or purpose through your work. I am not against building wealth or retiring early if that’s your preference. I am nevertheless aware of the excessive focus that is put on a job and how one’s identity that is increasingly tied to it.
To borrow words from David Foster Wallace, there is no such thing as atheism. People choose to worship different things. If you worship money, you will drive yourself mental in pursuit of wealth. If you worship work and intellect, you will always aspire to be smart and outstanding and then to endure a constant sense of imposter experience for your eyes are on grander achievements.
The actual and best freedom is the ability to stay out of the default worshipping mode, leaving behind the rat race, achievements and displaying. Doing so requires awareness and active efforts, to be present and involved and to get out of your head sometimes.
The best freedom is knowing when to say: “This is water.”