HUSTLE CULTURE & BURNOUT GENERATION

IS THERE A CHANGE HAPPENING IN THE WAY THE WORLD PERCEIVES WORK AND ITS RELATION TO SUCCESS? PRIORITIES ARE CHANGING, SEEMS LIKE EMPATHY CAN PRODUCE A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES

Outperform, outwork, and out-hustle your way to a more successful and rewarding life — This is the subtitle of the book ‘Rise and Grind’ by entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor John Daymond. But he is not the only one who lives by the ‘rise and grind’ mantra. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, with his recommendation of “80 sustained (working) hours a week, peaking at about 100 hours” is its poster boy. He has been quoted as saying, “There are easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week.”

But is there a change happening in the way the world perceives work and its relation to success?

Work can make or break you. Among long-term serious consequences

Now, with the second wave, we’ve seen that employers have become more sympathetic. They understand that people have issues and responsibilities, like taking care of senior citizens, young ones or even relatives who are Covid-positive. If a company has to survive, it has to think out of the box, and this now means making sure that employees are well-rested and well taken care of

— Dr Anjali Chhabria, renowned psychiatrist

are anxiety, depression, decreased social life, insomnia, marital problems, pain and illness, sleep disturbance, and stress. The hustle culture preaches that in order to live a truly successful life, we have to be constantly working, doing something productive or making a large amount of money and becoming wellknown. Employees place their faith in the power of hustling — work more, do more, be more — to elevate their sense of worth and to be happier.

GROWING EMPATHY

However, as the second Covid-19 wave ravages the country, there has been a perceptible change in approach — India Inc. is standing up for its employees, offering medical help and other forms of support. Companies now appreciate creativity and individuality rather than long work hours . Zerodha, an Indian financial services company, for instance, recently asked its employees not to respond to work mails post 6 p.m and on weekends. “I guess the pandemic showed people what they should prioritize — family, health, self-care, rather than just work, ambition etc — a more balanced approach to life,” says Vishnu Raju, Chairman of Exciga Group, IT company. “Varun Goenka, Cofounder and CEO, Chargeup, India’s largest battery-swapping network says, “At Chargeup, we have implemented a programme to boost productivity alongside employee delight. Our work culture encourages focus and enables employees to have work-free weekends. We don’t allow overtime as a practice, and encourage employees to take up some type of sport which can help them stay physically fit and active.” He says his company values the personal lives of employees.

“We avoid work-related communication in the early mornings or late evenings, which are family hours for most people. The goal is to keep everyone healthy, happy and capable of delivering their best in terms of quality and productivity.”

Sarvesh Shashi, Founder, SARVA, is India's largest yoga chain, says, “With the WFH revolution, travel times were slashed, but so was the boundary between personal and professional time zones. We’re mindful of the extra hours that the team puts in, which is why weekends are off-limits and we provide a compulsory ‘burnout leave’ on a Friday once a

month.”

DEEP-SEATED PROBLEMS

“Measuring success by professional achievements is the biggest cause of the psychological effects of the hustle culture. Right from childhood parents only discuss professional goals with their children, and continuously bombard them with the view that if they don’t succeed professionally, there is no life,” says Dr I Bharat Kumar Reddy, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Apollo Hospitals. Young people go into what’s called the burntout phase as a result of the hustle culture. “This affects them both physically and mentally. It causes chronic and prolonged stress. We are seeing young hypertensives, young diabetics,

The pandemic showed people what they should prioritize — family, health, self-care, rather than just work, ambition etc — a more balanced approach to life” — Vishnu Raju, chairman of Exciga Group

an increase in substance abuse and many relationship problems. Suicidal tendency among young people has increased,” Dr Bharat says.

STOP THE GRIND

We avoid workrelated communication in the early mornings or late evenings. The goal is to keep everyone healthy, happy and capable of delivering their best in terms of quality and productivity” — Varun Goenka, Co-founder

and CEO, Chargeup

While hard work is necessary, overworking to the point where you do not have even a second to yourself should be avoided. Renowned psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chhabria reiterates the oft-repeated solution — teach ourselves to work smarter, not harder, which means taking our mental and physical limits into consideration. Anjali’s company, Mindtemple Institute of Behavioral Sciences, works with corporates. “In the last two years, we realized that companies have changed their outlook towards their employees. Initially, companies were asking how to make employees work efficiently without them wasting much time. But once the WFH format became more accepted, it was found that people were able to work more, or for longer durations, and were also saving travel time. Now, with the second wave, we’ve seen that employers have become more sympathetic. They understand that people have issues and responsibilities, like taking care of senior citizens, young ones or even relatives who are Covid-positive,” she says.