It is often said that college is supposed to be the best years of our lives, filled with fun memories in pursuit of a high-quality education that will prepare us to enter the workforce. However, in recent years, hustle culture has become a defining aspect of many students’ college experiences. This culture glorifies relentless work and productivity with little regard to the toll it can take on mental state. Success under a hustle culture mindset is achieved by always “hustling”, and any form of downtime is seen as a sign of laziness. While ambition and hard work are valuable, the emphasis on never slowing down can often be counterproductive. Many college students also feel that constant work is central to their identity, making it difficult to escape the harsh cycle of a hustle culture lifestyle. It is important to address how this kind of life can lead to burnout, stress, and a diminished sense of well-being.

There are many different strategies for transitioning away from hustle culture. One mindset shift, called slow living, contrasts sharply with the fast-paced life of hustle culture. According to Forbes, soft living (another term for slow living) is gaining traction as a healthier alternative to hustle culture in 2024. This concept emphasizes a more relaxed life, focusing on slowing down and prioritizing relationships and mental health over workplace achievement. Oftentimes college students believe success lies in landing the highest paying job post-graduation or earning the most accolades during their time at university. Moving away from these ideas and redefining success on our own terms can help promote a healthier way of living as an alternative to hustle culture.

As someone who struggles with this mindset frequently, I know it can seem daunting to try and escape hustle culture, especially as a college student. A large part of my identity is grounded in the number of jobs I have, extracurriculars I participate in, and the constant need to be working. However, I truly believe if we acknowledge the toxic nature of hustle culture, work to incorporate slow living habits into our lives, and redefine what success means, we can make college a much more fulfilling experience.

Understanding Hustle Culture

As college students, many of us may feel the pressures of hustle culture whether we recognize the term or not. It is the societal mindset that glorifies overworking to be successful, essentially equating one’s personal worth to their own level of busyness and achievement.  The foundation of hustle culture relies on prioritizing career success over personal well-being and leisure. In environments riddled with hustle culture, people feel pressure to constantly be working or striving for more, often pushing personal lives and self-care to the back burner. 

Several different historical trends and societal shifts have led to the fostering of hustle culture. With capitalism's emphasis on personal wealth and buying power, hustle culture aligns with the belief that the more money you make and the harder you work to earn it, the higher your self-worth. Capitalism’s focus on individual achievement reinforces the idea that a person’s value is intrinsically tied to their financial successes. 

According to the Harvard Business Review, busyness has become a status symbol. As social media platforms have become more popular,  so have hustle culture “influencers.” These influencers glorify extreme success and luxurious lifestyles achieved through consistent “grinding” and hustle. This type of content is unrealistic and reinforces hustle culture, particularly among college students, and even more so students who have marginalized identities.

Hustle culture often affects people of color, women, low-income individuals, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with disabilities the hardest. This is due to societal expectations, systemic inequalities, and pressures of proving their worth due to harmful stereotypes. For example, according to a study done by Harvard, Black and Native American teenagers are nearly ten times more likely to be called “lazy” compared to their white counterparts, regardless of their work ethic. Because these communities often face discrimination, they can feel an increased need to stay in the cycle of hustle culture in order to elicit the same results as some of their more privileged peers.

Similarly, on university campuses, hustle culture is evident in many different places. Oftentimes professors may inadvertently promote it by providing students with work that they cannot complete without overextending themselves. Additionally, students may be influencing those around them if they have been raised under hustle culture values. Students influenced by this may choose a certain career path simply for logistical purposes rather than passions. This fuels the anxieties that come with a campus environment, where students often feel pressured to embody career goals based on the success and competition of their peers.

Why is Hustle Culture Toxic?

While hustle culture has been portrayed positively in the media, there is a darker side that needs more attention, specifically its toxic impact on college aged students. Most notably, it can have significant negative effects on mental health. Hustle culture can fuel anxieties and stress in anyone, but college students are especially vulnerable. According to research conducted in 2018, only 2.4% of students indicate that they are unaffected by stress. College students juggle school work, part-time jobs, student organizations, internships, and other passion projects. Layering the pressure to perform in line with hustle culture values only adds to the weight.

I sat down with Abigail Black, a senior at North Central College, who may be the busiest person I know. She is the editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, holds multiple on campus jobs, and is a member of the executive board of several different student organizations. While she is extremely driven and dedicated to her responsibilities, she understands that it can have some drawbacks. She says she is “well aware she does not have time for alone time,” and has experienced challenges such as burnout due to her commitments.

Many college students are familiar with the term burnout, which is a direct result of hustle culture. Work burnout, previously common among millennials, is now affecting college-aged students at an alarming rate. The World Health Organization says that work burnout is characterized by three dimensions: exhaustion, mental distance from one’s work, and reduced professional efficacy. Under hustle culture’s influence, college students often sacrifice rest and self-care to get ahead within their work or studies. This burnout can also lead to emotional exhaustion, leaving students in a state of complete physical and mental depletion due to academic or professional endeavors.

Mary Johnson, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) at the Dyson Wellness Center at North Central College, says that burnout is one of the most common issues students face. “Some levels of stress are normal; however, stress is temporary and burnout is more consistent,” says Mary. She says it can impact many parts of your life such as your functioning in school, your sports, and your relationships. Also, she often sees that burnout tends to intensify during students’ junior and senior year. During this time, students are extremely pressured to find internships and secure jobs post-graduation. 

While hustle culture might be seen as a pathway to success, it often leads to negative outcomes, including burnout, anxiety, decreased academic performance, and poor mental health.