Hustle culture: what badge of honour are we really wearing?

There is a line we often hear in job advertisements, coaching programmes, or business chats: "We value someone who will hustle." Or "You will need to be comfortable in ambiguity and ready to hustle." On the surface, it sounds energetic, future-facing and entrepreneurial. But when I pause to ask at what cost, the questions begin to accumulate.

And I get it. The appeal of hustle is real. For many, it represents drive, resilience, and the willingness to do what others will not. It is how careers are built, businesses are saved, and opportunities are created when there is little certainty. In that sense, hustle deserves respect. But it is worth asking whether the version of hustle we glorify today still serves us, or whether it has morphed into something unsustainable.

What does hustle actually mean?

Is hustling simply working hard? Or is it something less intentional, like pulling together any outcome, scrambling for the next thing, thriving on urgency rather than strategy? In many workplaces, hustle culture has become shorthand for "do whatever it takes, get something done, take what you can get." That may feel powerful. However, it also smells like a scarcity mindset, or an embrace of chaos rather than clarity.

For me, the red flag is a job description that says "comfortable in ambiguity or hustling required." If the future of leadership is defined by clarity, purpose and sustainable performance, then "hustle for its own sake" might be the wrong signal.

Origins of the hype

The term "hustle culture" is now a common phrase. It is described as "a mindset that emphasises working hard and constantly striving for success, often at the expense of one's personal well-being." From the rise of digital entrepreneurship to the "rise and grind" influencer era, the badge of honour became the 4 a.m. wake-up, the side gig, and the always-on mindset. The entrepreneurial booms of the 1990s and 2000s laid the foundation for the "go hard or go home" ethos that many still admire.

Of course, not everyone hustles by choice. For some, it is survival. Side gigs, long hours and relentless pace are often responses to economic pressure, not vanity metrics. Recognising this matters. The challenge is not the willingness to work hard; it is the expectation that exhaustion is the only legitimate route to success.

The hidden costs of the hustle

There is nothing wrong with ambition. Working hard and striving to achieve great things is part of what makes people extraordinary. However, even high performers need rhythm, with effort balanced by rest, and drive balanced by direction. When hustle becomes the default mode, the benefits of ambition are replaced by burnout.

Research paints a more nuanced picture. One study defines hustle culture in the workplace as an unspoken agreement between supervisors and employees about what productivity entails, often setting minimum expectations for being always on. And it doesn't take much of a stretch to correlate the hustle mindset with a higher risk of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress.

We also know that working longer hours does not indefinitely increase output. Once you exceed certain thresholds, efficiency and creativity drop sharply. Some studies even suggest that the more intense the hustle mindset, the lower the job satisfaction among workers, not because employees do not want to work hard, but because they are working hard without clarity or purpose.

The strategy versus scramble question

So, back to the key question: is hustle a strategy or a scramble? In my opinion, working hard is non-negotiable. Growth demands effort, curiosity and resilience. But when "hustle" becomes a badge of honour with no defined path, outcome or clarity, it can become reactive rather than strategic.

I prefer an invitation to build clarity under pressure, improve decision-making, communicate effectively when it matters most, and build momentum that drives us forward, rather than simply "hustle harder."

Some might say that it is just a hustle with a new language, and perhaps that is part of it. The distinction is not in how much effort we give, but in how deliberate that effort is. Hustle says, "move fast." Strategy says "move fast in the right direction." We need both, but in balance.

When job adverts ask for "thrives in ambiguity" or "must hustle", we should ask what happens when ambiguity is prolonged, or when hustle becomes the default rather than one lever among many. If everything is hustle, then strategy, planning, pause, and reflection may become punishments rather than opportunities.

Reframing the badge

How might we reframe the conversation? What if organisations and individuals measured not how many hours you put in, or how many tasks you tick, but how clearly you delivered and how sustainably you built performance? What if the badge of honour became demonstrable clarity under pressure, consistent growth, and adaptive leadership rather than the always-on grind?

This is not an argument against hard work. It is an argument for intention, for recognising that hustle can be both a strength and a risk depending on how we use it. When effort is tied to meaning and direction, it becomes momentum. When it is not, it becomes noise.

In that shift, hustle is not banished; it is refined. It becomes part of a growth rhythm rather than operating in an environment that feels desperate and unsustainable.

Here’s my invite

When you say "I am hustling," what does that mean for you?

Are you moving with intent or merely moving?

How does your organisation define success: output, busyness or outcomes?

What would it feel like to replace the badge of "hustle" with "strategic forward movement with purpose"?

Hustle still has its place. It is the burst of energy that helps us push through uncertainty or create momentum when things stall. But the leaders and teams who will thrive in the next decade will know when to sprint and when to slow down. In a world facing automation, flatter hierarchies, and evolving leadership demands, the human edge lies not just in how hard we hustle, but in how wisely we do it.

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In this blog, I've shared just a glimpse of a few NLP concepts and techniques. If this sparks your curiosity and you'd like to explore more, or even consider becoming an NLP Practitioner yourself, we'd be delighted to welcome you to our in-person NLP certification training. Our next sessions are scheduled to run in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane in 2026. We'd love to see you at one of these NLP training sessions.

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