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Hustle culture is not toxic

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Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#21

Post by nixpulvis »

I've had a bit of an axe to grind with the term "hustle" lately myself. I completely agree with your post and like the term when used as a coach uses it. When you have the motivation, use it!

But there's a darker definition; one I see play out inside tech circles quite frequently. The kind of thing that gets you in trouble in seedy bars, or makes you a lot of money if you can get away with it. It's barely legal (if at all) and covered in disguise and misdirection. Fake projects, exaggerated results, fronts and shields. A hustler can be cool, but is also a leech. One who feeds on the weak instead of elevating them. We should all be wary of the hustle but not write off the effort.

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#22

Post by imback »

Sounds like a dickhole narrative by someone not forced to hustle 24/7.

Punting it: when do we see the first rent-a-conomy solutions to hustling in your sleep? When we can turn dreams into movies, or shared experiences?

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#23

Post by engineer_22 »

klyrs wrote: post #15

The author demonstrates that a one-summer hustle had a good outcome. Nobody's trying to take that away from you. Sometimes, I cannot contain my passion for a problem and I need to make a choice: lie in bed with a buzzing brain, or get up and work on it. All that's fine. But, word of warning from somebody who was all hustle for over a decade: burnout is real. Hustle culture says we should all be doing the 996 thing fo…

Maybe "hustle culture" could be better defined. I think it means different things to different people.

When I think "hustle culture" I think multi-level marketing, corny fake Instagram ads, and poorly conceived business propositions.

You're right, bragging about how little sleep you got doesn't make you admirable, it makes you a schmuck.

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#24

Post by sokoloff »

henning wrote: post #4

- Working on your own project/company is tremendously different from working at someone else's stupid company that is obviously doomed to fail but you have a mortgage and kids so you need to work there for at least a year before switching jobs in order to not have your resume look weird - Taking time off for vacation and getting adequate sleep are literally the things hustle culture rails against, since normies do th…

If a company is doomed to fail, you’re almost certainly better off to switch boats than to ride that one to the bottom. If it does fail, you have an easy “why’d you leave Titanic LLC?” answer. If it lumps along sideways for a few years, you still have an OK answer. Four six month stints in a row is a concern without any explanation. If three of those were duds, it’s still better to get out IMO. (To be honest, four twelve month stints isn’t piles and piles better.)

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#26

Post by hiyer »

A single person working 10-12 hours on their own startup is not toxic. I wouldn't even call that a "culture". Founders/execs/managers slave-driving their employees to work 10-12 hours a day is a culture. And it's definitely toxic.

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#27

Post by kodah »

cmckn wrote: post #6

I believe the author has missed the point here. The conversation is not that “working hard is a bad thing”. “Hustle culture” is about making character judgements based on how many “hustles” one has going on at any given time. That is, if you aren’t killing yourself trying, then you aren’t trying. This is obviously awful and not a culture I want to live in. I’m happy that the author is having fun with their business,…

> Hustle culture

Is this term universal or is it one of those where it's narrowly defined based on who you're talking to?

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#28

Post by throwdecro »

"Hustle culture" is about a social norm, not how any one person spends their time. The toxicity comes from people expecting a high level of dedication from each other instead of simply themselves.

If the author is happy with what they're doing, good for them, as long as they're not applying the same set of expectations to others.

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#29

Post by AmericanChopper »

cmckn wrote: post #6

I believe the author has missed the point here. The conversation is not that “working hard is a bad thing”. “Hustle culture” is about making character judgements based on how many “hustles” one has going on at any given time. That is, if you aren’t killing yourself trying, then you aren’t trying. This is obviously awful and not a culture I want to live in. I’m happy that the author is having fun with their business,…

Well, you seem to be rather obviously making a character judgement here. Choosing to value something doesn’t imply a value judgement is being made on all other things of potential value. It certainly doesn’t imply that all other potential values are lesser. Describing the values of others as being for certain gross is most definitely judging them as lesser.

Re: Hustle culture is not toxic

#30

Post by heavyset_go »

I once met someone who lived and breathed "hustle culture". They even had a giant poster about "the hustle" framed in their living room. They were all about business, (allegedly) making money, and "legacy building". They had endless stories about their luxurious lifestyle and vacations, since work hard and play harder was their motto, after all.

I later found out that it was all a ruse. They didn't own any businesses and weren't employed. They didn't even own/lease the apartment, they had convinced an elderly couple at a church they were sleeping in the basement of to put them up in the apartment for free.

To me, that person was the living, breathing personification of hustle culture as I know it.

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