Hustle culture is a standard in society that thinks that you can only achieve success if you dedicate your life to work and work as hard as you can to put work above all else. The word "hustle" is defined as "an overflowing spirit". Career is considered as one of the most important aspects in life which can only be obtained through hard work. Thus forming a social standard where one can only succeed if they overexert and work themselves to the max capacity. People who embrace a hustle culture are always motivated to achieve success at a young age. In the process, they often work hard until late at night, take side jobs, and neglect their rest time. According to Hoffman (2021) working more than 50 hours per week cripples one's productivity and innovation. This lifestyle has a large enough impact on a person's mental health that causes depression to other health problems. The following section will provide a more specific explanation of the factors that cause hustle culture.
One of the main causes of hustle culture is technology. Because with the development of existing technology, it is easier for someone to access something, especially by using a cellphone. More and more features available, make your smart phone not only able to be used as a means of communication but also for work. One of the functions of the application is to send emails, create documents, zoom with colleagues to post designs on social media, all of which can be done with gadgets. Hustle culture also created by social media that sets standards of success as well as unrealistic productivity, thus making workers often burn out due to stress and anxiety caused by working continuously. Other people's activities or achievements uploaded on social media can encourage people with high self-esteem to set even higher standards and expectations for themselves so that there is a potential for being trapped in a workaholic (Snir et al., 2006). Many conveniences are obtained along with the development of technology, but wisdom and awareness are needed in using them so that they are not affected by the hustle culture caused by the technology.
Another point to consider is a social construction that becomes a common standard when a position and a large income are criteria for someone's success in starting his career. The higher a person's position, the more recognition from others that is directed. (Duha, 2018, Organizational Behavior), describes that "the need for esteem includes internal factors such as self-esteem, autonomy, and achievement as well as external factors such as status, recognition, and attention". Therefore, this feeling of inferiority drives the person to be more successful, one of which is to be more passionate about work. This generations have to widespread social and cultural change, to help change the attitudes of future generations towards definitions of work and successfull, to protect personal and societal well-being and no longer affected by the hustle culture formed by the social construction .
It is quite obvious that the last one is Toxic Positivity. Toxic Positivity is quite influential on the occurrence of hustle culture. This assumption often comes from the hearts or words of the people around us. It is the cause of a person being forced to always be strong and enthusiastic, even when he is tired. Sokal, Trudel and Babb (2020) shows that Toxic Positivity is defined as the act of rejecting or denying stress, negativity, or other negative experiences that exist. Toxic positivity is the cause of someone not caring about their physical condition even though they feel very tired from work or what is known as hustle culture.
Finally, it can be concluded that hustle culture is a culture that makes a person work continuously to reach a point of success that is shaped by social. The cause of the emergence of hustle culture is also influenced by several factors. One of them is technology, then social construction, and toxic positivity.
