MILLENNIALS & GEN Z CAUGHT UP IN BURNOUT BLACKHOLE

Twenty-year-old Pushpa Bhargav, pursuing a degree in Nutrition, aspires to work as a clinical dietician soon. The day is not far when she will be formulating diet charts and improving the lives of countless patients. She believes she has to hustle her way to the top, from sleepless nights preparing for competitive exams and caffeinated extra hours to focus on her culinary side gig, she leaves no stone unturned. Amid the grind, she almost forgot how she suspended her basic needs and began contradicting what she preaches i.e. a healthy balanced lifestyle. Being a workaholic, popularly called a hustler in 2022, is gaining worldwide prominence among Millenials and Gen Z. We have redefined success as an endless journey of achieving more and more. Thanks to the Internet gurus, promising to teach productivity hacks and celebrity-preneurs flaunting their luxuriant life ornamented with fancy cars, picture-perfect holidays, expensive vegan diets, etc. A 100% is too less of a count, this culture demands 1,000% and more of your devotion to work and shows you a promising future of a six-plusfigure salary, corporate status and passive income due to around-the-clock grind. There’s no denying that these dreams become a reality but at a grave expense to you.

CURRENT SCENARIO: THE POST PANDEMIC RAMIFICATIONS
However, the tables have somewhat turned after the gruesome Covid-19 episode. Gripped by the fear of losing loved ones and our own lives, job layoffs, made many of us question our sense of self-worth beyond our net worth. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) produced data stating that the number of employees, both salaried and non-salaried, fell from 398.14 million in March to 390.79 million during the second wave. This has lowered the morale of many who aligned their identity solely with work. Though this has not marginalised the hustle mania, it has given rise to a greater demand for job flexibility and work-life balance prioritising mental and physical health. Psychologist, Dr Nikitha Harish, advocating this idea of work-life balance, said, “Perseverance without selfpreservation is detrimental. Self-care and mental health are instrumental for one to realise their true potential.” Research held at the City University of New York (CUNY) states that the immediate aftermath of negative hustle culture is much more than employee burnout. Employees often hesitate to communicate their exhaustion in fear of being deemed as replaceable, therefore compromising their job security, if access to an equal or better opportunity is unavailable. The idea of a 40-hour work week or a 4-day work week is gaining traction in many countries like Iceland and Belgium and is being widely exp e r i m e n t e d with. In 2022, Spain’s government has been applauded globally for its new policy of providing paid menstrual leaves. Beating the obsession with hustle culture will require a joint effort of employees and employers. It starts with small changes in your daily routine like prioritising 8 hours of sleep, proper nutrition, and exercise and setting reasonable targets at work to curb professional cynicism and enhance efficacy. This may be complemented with regular mental health checkups performed by a registered mental health expert. Living in a world of uncertainty intensified by economic recessions and unforeseen pandemics, productivity will continue to remain the currency of careerist success. However, the silver lining lies in the hope that more young professionals will gradually break the social conditioning of glorifying overworking and start living life as a whole.

TRACING THE ROOTS
The world’s most coveted business magnate and investor once tweeted, “Nobody ever changed the world in 40 hours a week.” While this ignited a zeal in many, it also malevolently influenced professionals to keep going the extra mile often undermining the appalling consequences. This cult dates back to the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. However, it currently rose to fame due to the Great Recession of 2008 when the younger workforce lost its faith in the stability of 9 to 5 jobs. This led to normalising working harder, quicker, and longer, and also marked the rise of the “gig economy” on social media where the idea of multiple side hustles seemed to be the most lucrative way to gain financial independence sooner. The gig economy has been known for its perks for a long time but owing to the growing obsession with achieving more, there was a surge in the number of work freak free lancers who were working overtime leaving no crumbs. A CNBC report dated February 2020 stated that the number of gig workers hiked by 15% since 2010. That is about six million more workers involved in the gig economy than in 2010. Professionals who had not gotten involved with freelancing started aiming for more work hours and faster promotions in their companies leading to a tight rat race.