Spady: Why you shouldn’t buy into millennial ‘hustle culture’

New York Times author Erin Griffith made an observation this week about millennials. She was puzzled by what she called “hustle culture.”

“It is obsessed with striving, relentlessly positive, devoid of humor, and — once you notice it — impossible to escape.”

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Griffith pointed out that it is a new normal for millennials to boast about their 18-hour work days and the sacrifices they are making to stay on their #Grind.

I have three jobs. I do this radio show every morning, I own an ad agency, and I am developing a social media app. This article resonated with me, but for the wrong reasons. I don’t see my #hustle as an overall good thing. I wouldn’t recommend my lifestyle to anyone.

I believe in a work-life balance and I think it is important to take vacations. I encourage all my employees to use their time off. It doesn’t make them any less of a hard worker. I don’t think any of my listeners would care to know how much time I spend at the radio station before or after the show. The only thing they care about is that I don’t swear on the radio, and that I keep them entertained.

You do make sacrifices for work and for your goals. Sometimes there’s no avoiding it. I am making many of them to do the jobs that I do. But I don’t encourage anyone else to do the same. I think what I do is inherently unhealthy. Mental health is so brutally important, and if you’re working 80-hour work weeks in order to feel accomplished, something is wrong.

The most precious things in life are outside of the office. You may work hard in spurts and you may work hard because you need to, but don’t work hard because that’s all there is to life. There is so much more to life, and I think it is important to remember that.