The Feed presents ‘Burnout: The dark side of hustle’ 8:30pm Thursday on SBS VICELAND.
Kassandra Montes is a single mother, juggling full-time study with four jobs.
She’s the first person in her family to go to college, moving from New York from Miami when she was 19.
“I woke up every morning and I was like there is more out there,” she said.
“I have to go out and beyond because I know like I'm going to have to struggle to get where I want to be.”
She says she knows she needs to ‘struggle’ to get ahead - but the cost of it is growing.
“I've put some of my classes on credit cards. I took out a loan because I maxed all my credit cards,” she said.
Ms Montes works four jobs, yet still needs assistance from the college’s food bank. She’s currently living in a homeless shelter with her young son.
But despite her circumstances, she says the ‘hustle’ is worth it - even if she is at breaking point.
“Sometimes I wanna just kinda give up, but I know I can't give up because in the long run it's gonna pay off,” she said.
Hustle is like ‘putting lipstick on a pig’, experts say
Ms Montes is one of millions of millennials around the world dedicating their lives to work and study to get ahead - ‘hustling’.
Half of millennials globally expect to work past 65, according to a report by ManpowerGroup. 12 per cent expect to work until they die.
Richard Wolff is the founder of ‘Democracy at Work’, an advocacy organisation for workers rights.
He says the idea that working harder gets your ahead is a lie. Millennials are working more for less - and it doesn’t matter what fancy term you give it.
“It's still a pig, even if you've put lipstick on the pig. So yes, you call it hustle.”
Source: The Feed
Professor Wolff says the whole ‘hustle’ concept is the ‘American Dream’, rebranded. But it’s a fraud - built by big business seeking more efficient workers.
“For every one of the big successes who becomes an overnight billionaire - I can introduce you to 5000 who didn't - who tried real hard, used what little money they could, maxed out their credit card and are now working at Walmart.”
So if it’s all just ‘branding’ - what happens when that fails?
Daniel Thomas Hind is part of a generation of young Americans who grew up wanting to live the hustle lifestyle. He didn’t start light - his first projects included two start-ups and a health coaching business. Every minute of the day was accounted for.
“I went from managing five people to 70 people in all of my projects, which as a first time CEO is unbelievable,” he said.
But what built him, almost broke him.
“As much as it was exciting, it was unsustainable,” he said, “you have no room to breathe.”
Last year, Mr Thomas Hind succumbed to burnout and was in bed for two weeks straight.
“Physically, I had this stress response where my entire body just shut down,” he said.
Just this week, the World Health Organisation recognised burnout as a medical diagnosis. It relates to emotional exhaustion, detachment and feeling ineffective - but only in the context of work.
Despite the pressure, experts - and those who’ve lived it - say hustle culture isn’t going anywhere. In fact, there are entire industries now making money off it.
Source: The Feed
It remains to be seen whether these industries, like the ‘hustle’ itself can be sustained. Or will they too burn out?
Do you consider yourself part of the ‘hustle’ culture? Have you experienced burnout? Let us know at thefeed@sbs.com.au
