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Hustle culture: How and why does it affect Gen Z’s mental health?

by Christina Indon

DISCLAIMER: This contains serious topics such as mental health, depression, and the like. Read at your own risk.

It hasn’t been long since members of Gen Z, or the Zoomers, started their journey in the corporate world. However, since then, stories about Gen Z’s going from one job to another have surfaced.

Many say that Gen Zs aren’t happy since their mental health is affected.

For this article, we will be focusing on factors that can affect Gen Z’s mental health.

What is hustle culture?

According to online therapy company Talkspace, hustle culture is where a workplace emphasizes hard work and long hours as the key to success. 

Despite working hard and giving your all, it can also cause employees to become overwhelmed and affect their mental health due to the pressure and exhaustion brought by standards and adjustments.

Some even dismissed Gen Z workers as “snowflakes.”

READ: Are they snowflakes? Why mental health is a big deal to millennial and Gen Z workers

Is there a specific reason why Gen Zs are the most affected by hustle culture? Why and how does it affect their mental health?

RepublicAsia once again talked to registered psychologist Rainier Ladic. With his credentials, including hosting seminars in colleges, and familiarity with Gen Z culture, we asked him questions about hustle culture and how it affects their mental health. 

Ladic says that hustle culture is rooted in capitalism, wherein it has its benefits—like becoming more productive—but it also has its cons, like when a person’s worth and importance are merely measured by the productivity and progress they make at work.

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Ladic adds that Gen Zs may be affected by hustle culture for two reasons: 1) it helps in their coping strategies, wherein their past experiences of coming up with solutions help them in school or at work; and 2) Gen Zs are less resilient and more susceptible to pressures than previous generations, according to research, which can cause burnout, emotional breakdown, and mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, and self-esteem problems, among other issues.

Biopsychosocial model

In terms of biological aspects, Ladic informs us that our prefrontal cortex is not fully-developed until 25 years of age and is responsible for our executive functioning (i.e., reasoning, judgment, abstract, and logical thinking). Our limbic system, on the other hand, is the most fully developed one at that age and is the most dominant part of our brain. The structure inside the limbic system is called the amygdala, or emotional center, of our brain.

It can be said that teenagers and late adolescents are emotional, or that what makes them feel good becomes the basis of their decisions.

When it comes to psychological conditions, they can also be caused by a biological predisposition or by being passed down from parents or relatives, but stress brought on by hustle culture can make them manifest.

Resilience vs non-reactivity

Resilience, according to Ladic, is the ability to bounce back after a problem, situation, or experience.

Non-reactivity, on the other hand, is the ability to recognize and accept your emotions and feelings while avoiding being overwhelmed by a certain situation.

Ladic says, “The more resilient and non-reactive a person is, the better they cope with the challenges of day to day living.”

As mentioned earlier by Ladic, hustle culture has its perks, like teaching us to be more resilient and how to be less reactive to stressors.

In addition, Ladic emphasizes that people in the adolescent stage, not just Gen Zs, are more likely to be reactive due to their lack of life experiences.

Social Factors

Gen Zs have access to social media. Seeing how different their lives are from others’, comparison happens, which can affect their self-esteem and performance at work.

With these things being said, are Gen Z’s being “maarte” when they are relying on their feelings too much?

Ladic says, “Ang pagiging maarte, it’s not really like that. Kasi kailangan natin maintindihan kung saan ba nanggagaling ito?”

Ladic advises that it’s better for younger generations to figure out and reflect on how they can cope with these failures or challenges at work.

Is it bad to leave a job when your mental health is already affected?

With Ladic sharing how work pressure can sometimes lead to mental health problems, we ask him if quitting is a sign of weakness. 

“One thing about the concept of quitting. Quitting is not all bad naman. It depends,” Ladic says.

He adds, “When we quit at the slightest conveniences, then it speaks more towards the personality of the person than the workplace itself. Slightest inconveniences, [for instance], porket napagalitan ka for the first time or intermittently nagkamali ka, ang nagiging option na is to quit the job.”

This kind of behavior might be the result of how rigid and idealistic a person is towards their work. Making mistakes is normal, Ladic says. Progress is not linear. Our minds have to be open to changes and adjustments, including failures.

However, when the workplace is consistently toxic, Ladic says, “Quitting the job could be a wise decision. Standing up for our mental health does not make us weak, but rather it takes a lot of strength to do this.

Is work-life balance a myth?

Sometimes, you cannot escape work despite clocking out, being on vacation, or being on sick leave. So is work-life balance a myth?

Ladic says, “It is a myth for those people who refuse to open up their minds to adjust to the changing needs of people.”

Ladic adds that his statement doesn’t only apply to employees but to companies as well. With times changing and different generations having different behaviors, companies need to adjust as well.

But Ladic also reminds us that we can always find it in ourselves to balance our personal and professional lives.

General welfare

Ladic says that it shouldn’t only be mental health; the top priority should be the general welfare of everyone. 

‘Sense of self-worth’

Work life can sometimes test one’s mental health, self-esteem, and, as mentioned, can lead to inferiority. Self-worth becomes the reason for one’s crisis. 

How does Ladic remind the people around him that they are more than their work?

Since capitalism has taught us that our worth is defined by the amount of work we give or the amount we create, we forget that those things are not what really define us.

Ladic shared that he once experienced the effects of hustle culture. He had a lot of gigs, including seminars, online therapy sessions, TV guest appearances, etc. Self-reflection is what Ladic used to overcome the effects of hustle culture.

Ladic advises people to ask themselves this, “Who am I without the success or achievements that I have right now? Will I still value myself? Or did I start valuing myself based only on what I can do and how I please people?”

Having self-reflection and awareness is very important to evaluate one’s self-concept. ”Our self-concept is the ground of our personality,” Ladic says. 

Ladic adds, “It [self-concept] makes us an autonomous person. Nandiyan din ang ating sense of self-worth.”

Next, Ladic questions where he places his value. Questions like, “Ito bang nararamdaman ko is genuine happiness ba ito?”

Ladic quit most of his jobs to prioritize his well-being. However, he knew what he really wanted to do, which was to become a psychologist, while taking the time to rest.

Hustle culture sometimes influences us to look so far into the future that we forget to live in the moment, and thus we become exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Ladic says that if you ever get tired from work, always find a way to take a break. Resting, drinking a warm cup of coffee, watching a movie, or merely relaxing is being productive, as you are now starting to live in the moment and prioritize yourself.

Ladic offers the following questions that we can use to assess ourselves and keep in mind that we are more than just our jobs:

“Do you feel alive? If so, do you really experience life? If you do experience life, can you feel that you are alive with your feet touching the present time?”

Ladic ends the interview by saying, “Being more than work is when one prioritizes the balance of the importance of the different aspects of life while preserving the sense that you feel alive in the here and now.”

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